Trial By Fire
by ermintrude421
Summary: Set between Three Little Spies and All the World's a Stage, Amanda is kidnapped and Lee has to find her. He has time to consider just exactly how interested he is in Amanda romantically. Rated T for Language, violance and sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER Scarecrow & Mrs. King is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot The Moon Production Company. The original portions of this story, however, are copyrighted to the author. This story is for entertainment purposes only and cannot be redistributed without the permission of the author. If you want to put it on your site, please email me, I would like to thank you for the high compliment. No infringement of copyright is intended.

Timeline: Between Three Little Spies and All the World's a Stage.

Lee in Three Little Spies behaves differently from Lee in All the World's a Stage.

In the former, he's still trying to make up his mind about dating Amanda. In the latter, he's made his decision. I just decided to stretch the timeline a bit and put a "case" in between the two that got Lee thinking seriously about Amanda and got him to finally commit to the idea of a relationship with her—with all it might entail.

This is from Lee's POV, mostly.

Stays in canon. Just adds a bit of 'head time' for Lee.

'indicates thoughts.'

Rated T for language, violence and slight sexual content. Angst warning—but it all turns out all right in the end (as if I would ever permanently damage either of them...)

Reviews are appreciated. They are surprisingly encouraging.

Trial By Fire by Ermintrude

3:07am Friday late Day 1

Lee drove fast but not fast enough to be stopped by the cops. He didn't need any delays. Amanda's life probably depended on it.

He was headed out of D.C. west into the Shenandoah Mountains, to a cabin in the forest. TP assured him this was the correct place—the directions were pretty clear—that man had some contacts. And Lee was very grateful for that. Of course, it had all started with TP, or rather, someone misinterpreting a contact between himself and TP.

7:03 am Thursday morning – start of Day 1

Lee called Amanda at home from his apartment.

"Hello" she answered the phone.

"Amanda, you up for a meet this morning?"

"Good morning to you too, Lee." He could picture her shaking her head at his bad phone manners. "What do you have in mind?"

"I need to meet with TP at 8:30 in the park by the cannon. Do you want to meet me there shortly beforehand?"

"I can make that. I'll just finish breakfast and get the boys off to school and I should be there in plenty of time, traffic permitting."

"I'll see you then, Amanda." He hung up and finished his coffee. He had time until he had to leave so he perused the morning paper.

At 7:55 Lee's phone rang.

"Stetson here."

It was TP. "Lee my boy, I'm glad I caught you before you left. We have to postpone our meet—it's not safe. I'm still trying to get details. I'll call you later at your office."

"OK, thanks TP. I've gotta go. I have to call Amanda." He hung up and dialed Amanda's number again.

"Hello." It was Dotty who answered.

"Hi, is Amanda there?"

"Oh, she left a couple of minutes ago. Is this Mr. Stinson?"

"Yeah, I guess I'll talk to her when she gets in to the office. Thanks."

"Of course, good bye." Dotty sounded like she wanted to talk more, but Lee didn't have time.

He was worried—if the meet was not safe, Amanda was not safe, and she didn't know.

'Dammit, she's going into a dangerous situation because of me and I'm not there to protect her.' He grabbed his keys and bolted out of his apartment. He hoped he could get to the meet before Amanda.

8:20am Thursday Day 1

Lee arrived in the park, by the cannon, but there was no sign of Amanda or anyone else. He looked around, there were people in the park, but nobody who looked suspicious or dangerous. He did a quick walk around, looking for Amanda, and soon spotted her Jeep. It was locked and her purse was on the floor in the back seat. He made short work of the lock and opened the car. Her perfume lingered in the driver's seat. He got out and put his hand on the hood—still warm, so she had just gotten there.

'Where is she? Did someone grab her?' He sat for a minute in her car, holding her purse, and then got up. He locked the car, taking her purse and ran to the 'Vette. He used his mobile phone to call Billy.

"Melrose here."

"Billy, I think someone's got Amanda."

"What happened, Scarecrow?"

"We were supposed to meet TP at 8:30 in the park by the cannon, but TP called me back and said it wasn't safe. Amanda had already left. I got here and her car's here with her purse in it. I must have just missed her. She's nowhere, Billy."

"OK, I'll put out an alert. Come in here and we'll coordinate." Billy hung up.

8:56am Thursday Day 1

Lee was at his desk in the Q Bureau, calling his family, looking for information. TP had been his first call, now he was contacting the rest of his informants.

11am Thursday Day 1

Lee was in Billy's office with Francine.

Billy got down to business. "What have we got, people?"

Francine spoke, "There are rumors someone important was kidnapped this morning. Not by the Soviets, but maybe another satellite state. Rumor has it a team got one of our best and are going to get what information they can in a secluded hideout. Outside D.C. That's all I've got so far, I'm still digging."

Lee ran his hand through his hair. "I've got nothing, Billy. I have a couple of meets scheduled with my family later, but so far nobody has information. TP said originally the meet was not safe. He's trying to get more…"

Billy looked worried. "He has no more details…" It wasn't a question. "OK, Amanda's car was brought in and we've gone over it. Everything is OK there so we're pretty sure she wasn't in the car when she was taken. And I think by now we can assume she was kidnapped. Anything in her purse that we can use?"

"No Billy," Lee replied, "just her usual stuff."

Francine spoke up, "That must have been an interesting search, Scarecrow. Sifting through coupons, recipes…"

Billy interrupted, and shot her a look. "Can it, Francine. We'll just keep working our contacts and see what we can find out."

"What will we tell her family?" Lee asked.

Billy replied, "I'll call her mother, tell her Amanda was called out of town unexpectedly on an open-ended assignment. Last minute emergency thing. That should cover for her for a while."

"Thanks, Billy." Lee was relieved, at least that aspect was in control.

"Get back to work both of you—we need to get information about who got Amanda, why they took her, and where they are."

During the afternoon, Lee met with Rhonda and other members of his family, with no results. He was getting very worried. With Francine's information he expected someone to have some information about Amanda. The silence was worrying.

5pm Thursday Day 1

Billy, Francine and Lee met again in Billy's office.

Billy got down to business. "Anything new?"

Lee was agitated, "Zip, nada, nothing, Billy. It's like she fell off the face of the earth."

"Francine?" Billy turned to his assistant.

She spoke up, "I got a definite confirmation. One of our best agents kidnapped this morning and they're expecting big information. Who did it is still unknown, not the Soviets, but this may be a rogue operation."

Billy sighed, "That's probably Amanda. Though she isn't an agent, they don't know that."

Lee interjected, "And she isn't trained to resist interrogation. Billy—they'll kill her when they find out she isn't an agent…" He was feeling helpless.

Billy replied authoritatively, "Right now, we don't know what they'll do. Keep working your contacts, Scarecrow. Any more of your family you can contact?"

"I'm waiting on TP and Lana. I'll stay as late as I need to. We have to get Amanda back."

Billy could do no more. "Keep me informed."

9:45pm Thursday Day 1

Lee met with Lana at a place near the Bulgarian Embassy. She was wary.

"Hey, Lana. I'm here, what do you have?"

She spoke quietly. "Hello, Lee. I can't stay long, but this is important. The Bulgarian Ambassador got a call during his massage. He was talking to some Romanian official. A rogue Romanian agent and a doctor captured one of yours, and are using drugs at a cabin in the mountains to get what information they can. This is not a sanctioned operation, but they'll take the information nonetheless. They have a woman. I think it's your partner, Mrs. King…"

"Lana, you're great! At least we know who we're dealing with. Is there anything else?"

Lana looked uncomfortable. "An experimental hallucinogenic drug was mentioned. It's dangerous and some subjects have died. They stole a sample, along with other more conventional interrogation drugs. We don't know exactly what they're using but they do have the experimental one…"

"That's not good, but at least we know now. Lana, I owe you big time for this one. Really….thanks a million!"

They left and Lee returned to the Agency. Once back in the Q Bureau, he called TP again.

TP answered the call, "Lee, my boy, it's a bit late…"

Lee cut him off. "TP, I need info ASAP. I found out a rogue Romanian agent and a doctor grabbed Amanda and they're holed up in a cabin in the mountains. TP, I need this fast. They have an experimental hallucinogenic drug and it's killed some subjects. I have to get to Amanda before they use it on her…"

"I'll get right on it. It would be a great shame if anything happened to Mrs. King… Don't worry, Lee. We'll get the information and you'll find her in time."

"Thanks, TP."

Lee worked the computer but didn't get anywhere. 'This is Amanda's strong suit, she usually does this stuff. I hope she gets back OK. I need my partner back. I swear if I find these guys I'll kill them if they've hurt Amanda in any way. Hang on, Amanda. I'm doing everything I can. I'll come to get you soon, just hang in there … please … for me.'

2:10am Friday, late Day 1

Lee was awakened by his phone. He had fallen asleep at his desk, the computer still on.

"Stetson here."

It was TP. "Lee, I have your information."

"Great TP, give it to me." Lee grabbed paper and a pen to write with.

"There's a cabin in the Shenandoah Mountains, about 3 hours' drive from D.C. No phone, but nicely appointed."

TP gave Lee a complicated set of directions, then made Lee repeat them. The last 30 miles were on rural gravel roads. It was quite out of the way. Lee hoped he got it right. He had to get it right.

After the call was ended, Lee went down to research. He checked out the maps of rural Virginia and compared them with the directions TP had given him. He made copies—it looked right—and went back up to the bullpen. He called the switchboard from a desk and left a message with directions. The operator sounded dubious, but he insisted it was priority one.

Then he left a copy of the directions, the maps and a note on Billy's desk. He didn't notice the papers float off the desk into the trash as he left in a hurry and slammed the door behind him.

Then he got into the 'Vette and headed west into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

5:35am Friday, Day 2

Lee pulled the Corvette off the road and into an abandoned drive. According to the maps, that last dirt road was the road into the cabin.

'It's a healthy walk, but I don't want to alert them to my presence,' he thought.

He had his weapon and two extra clips. 'Hope it will be enough. I hope Amanda's OK. She's gotta be OK.' He was determined.

He made his way down the road in the pre-dawn light. Finally he saw the cabin—more like a house—small but well-built. One car was parked by the door.

He crept around listening and watching for any lookouts. There were none. He crept closer to the cabin and found an open window. He peeked in and saw Amanda tied to a chair. There were two men with her that he could see. One was cleaning up after having just given her some sort of injection. She looked unconscious, her head hanging down.

"What's wrong, why isn't she responding, doc?" The man was impatient and looked haggard.

The doctor replied in a weary patient tone. "I told you, this experimental drug is powerful. Most subjects experience some unconsciousness for a while after injection. Then they enter a shadow state. She will be conscious but you have to talk to her. It works in cycles—one hour the subject will be talkative, one hour they will be unresponsive. It has six cycles, 12 hours total. Some subjects experienced shock during the down times, we must monitor her condition closely. We should also try to get her to eat and drink while she is conscious, it helps the body withstand the stress of the drug—the on and off cycles."

"We need information—we've gotten nothing so far." The other man was agitated.

The doctor replied calmly. "That's not my fault, the first drug we tried is usually quite effective. Perhaps you weren't asking the right questions."

The other man responded hotly, "Hey, watch it! I don't need you any more now that you've injected that stuff. Maybe I should just kill you…"

The doctor faced the other man with a tired demeanor. "If she goes into shock, do you know what to do? You don't want her dying before you get what you want."

"I don't care if she dies, I will kill her anyhow once I've gotten what I want."

"She's in rough shape now—you roughed her up when she got here and she almost escaped. Then you hit her when she gave you that recipe."

"Damn her," the other man was clearly agitated. "She's good. She hasn't given me anything except some stupid recipe…"

"The first drug definitely affected her. She's just well-trained to resist it. Now this drug should do it. It hasn't failed yet. Just keep her still, she shouldn't move too much until the drug has run its course and she's had a chance to rest. The strain could kill her."

"She'll stay tied up then until I have what I want."

The doctor faced the other man. "You should untie her. I'd recommend you let her lie down. She'll be so disoriented she won't try to escape."

The other man thought for a moment, then nodded. They untied Amanda and moved her to a narrow bed in the corner of the room and covered her with a light blanket.

Lee saw the left side of her face was bruised and she had a black eye. 'I'll kill that bastard, I swear.'

Once she was settled, the doctor finished gathering up his equipment and vials. "It's up to you and the drug. I'll monitor her condition but there are no more injections I can give her."

"You've got more of that stuff, we can try again if we need to."

The doctor replied quickly, "No! Another injection will kill her. We just need to keep her in bed. You will ask your questions and I'll monitor her condition."

Lee decided he had heard all he needed to. He burst in through the door. The other man fumbled for a weapon, and Lee shot him twice. He went down. The doctor immediately ran out the door and Lee heard the car start as he was making sure the other man was disarmed. He looked out to see the car spitting gravel as it sped down the drive.

'Well, I got one of them, at least.' Lee looked over at his partner, she was still unconscious. "Oh God, Amanda." He spoke aloud. 'She doesn't deserve this,' he thought.

He checked the man he had shot—he didn't recognize the guy, or the doctor for that matter. The man on the floor was dead. Lee quickly searched the cabin, determined nobody else was present and located a back room. He pulled the body in there and shut the door. There was a little blood on the floor. He spied a rug and covered it up.

He spent the next half-hour thoroughly checking out the cabin. He found a backpack and loaded into it the vials of drugs plus all the medical paraphernalia. 'Maybe our guys can get samples from this.' He found a tape recorder and tapes. He played one—it was the other man and Amanda.

"Tell me all of Scarecrow's secrets," the man demanded.

Amanda sounded tired and spoke slowly. "I don't know Scarecrow's secrets. Why are you doing this? Please let me go. I just want to get home to mother and the boys…"

Lee forwarded the tape.

"Tell me your secrets," the man demanded in a loud voice.

"Oh gosh, I can't do that. Please let me go. I hurt. You hurt me. Why don't you let me go? I don't know anything. I just want to get back home…"

He switched the tape off.

Lee's jaw clenched and he took a deep breath. 'It's just evidence, gotta stay objective… Objective, hell. It's Amanda.' He looked over at her resting on the bed, covered with a light blanket. 'They drugged her, interrogated her, hurt her, and she didn't tell them anything. How did she do it? These guys were pros. By all rights she should have told them anything and everything they asked.'

'I don't deserve her. She's so amazing…' Lee's stomach felt hollow and his palms were wet. 'I've gotta get her through this drug. Shock. Just keep her warm, feet elevated. They said she should eat and drink, it would help. Will that doctor be back with reinforcements? He bolted and it was a rogue operation. He's probably long gone. I can't move Amanda anyhow, so we're here until the drug is through her system and she's rested. Probably until tomorrow morning.'

'Oh, Amanda. I'm so sorry you had to go through this. If only I hadn't handed you that package…' He sighed, and rubbed his eyes. ''If only' isn't something a good agent dwells on. Just the facts. Just how it went down. I've told her that often enough, and now I can't take my own advise. But if I hadn't handed her that package my life would be very different. She's changed my life—changed me. And I'm really glad for it. She's a great partner, the best partner I've ever had. Better than Eric, or Dorothy even. She's my best friend. I owe it to her to do my best to get her through this. I can do this. We can do this…together.'

He put the recorder and tapes into the backpack as well. 'Let the guys back at the Agency deal with this…'

Just then Amanda moaned and stirred.

Lee moved to sit beside her on the bed. He took her hand and brushed the hair off her forehead. He spoke gently and calmly.

"Amanda, can you hear me?"

She opened her eyes ands tried to focus on his face. "Lee, is that you?"

Her voice was thick and slurred.

"Yes, Amanda, it's me. I'm here. You're safe. The bad guys are gone."

"Lee, you've gotta come rescue me. The bad guys think I'm you. I didn't let them know. I know I've gotta keep your secrets, but ohhhh. I think I told then my secret ingredient for my poppy seed cake…"

"Hey, Amanda, it's OK…"

"Lee, please come rescue me…"

He took her face in his hands. "Amanda, look at me." He waited until she seemed to focus on his face. "I'm here with you. Just us. Nobody else. You're safe here with me. I'll take care of you. We're partners, we watch out for each other. We take care of each other."

"We watch each other's backs." She reached out and brushed Lee's hair out of his face.

"Yeah," he replied. "Do you feel like eating anything?"

"Food, I don't know…"

"I'm gonna check and see what food is here."

She started to get up. "Let me help."

He pushed her back down. "Not this time. You just rest. You can watch me, OK?"

"OK, I'll watch. I kinda hurt anyhow, so resting would be best."

He moved to the kitchenette area and found some canned soup and a loaf of bread. 'Soup and toast, that should be good.' He heated the soup on the burner and toasted bread. He made coffee for himself.

Amanda sat up and ate the soup and toast. He found juice and she drank a glass. Then he cleared the dishes away once she was done.

"I feel better, Lee. Thanks. But I still hurt."

"Where does it hurt?" he tried to sound casual.

"Here on my side, my hip." She lifted her shirt a couple inches to show a large dark bruise on her right side, extending down her hip, as she pushed the waistband of her slacks down a bit.

Lee clamped his jaw and the muscle twitched. That was not good. She probably didn't have a broken rib. She sat up easily and was breathing OK, but that had to hurt. He took a calming breath.

"Amanda, anywhere else you hurt?" he asked in a deceptively calm voice.

"My face, my eye hurts," her hands moved to the black eye.

"Anywhere else?"

She paused and thought. "I just really ache all over. It's kinda like how I felt after I had the boys. My whole body is just achy and I'm really pooped."

He tucked her back into bed and tried to make sure she was comfortable.

"You let me know if you need anything."

"Well, some aspirin might help."

"I don't have any aspirin, Amanda. You want more juice?"

"Maybe a little. That coffee sure smells good."

"OK." He started to get her some then stopped. 'She's still drugged. Caffeine is also a drug. Maybe I shouldn't let her drink coffee, it could interact with the drug.' He tried a diversion . "Ahhh, maybe that's not such a good idea. You need to rest and the coffee could keep you up."

"Oh, OK. Juice should be fine."

He moved a small table next to the bed and put a glass of juice there. He surreptitiously finished his cup of coffee, and then pulled a chair up next to the bed. "So, what do you want to talk about?" he asked in a cheerful voice.

"Lee, you know we can talk about anything. We're best friends. Debbie Ann Macabie was my first best friend, well, after Lois Ann but Lois Ann was a doll and Debbie Ann was a person so it was different, but we talked about all sorts of stuff, about school and clothes and later we talked about boys …"

Amanda rambled on and on about anything and everything. Every so often she looked to Lee for some reply, and he said "yes" or "go on" or whatever was needed. 'As long as she stays still, she can talk all she wants. If this is all she does, it shouldn't be so bad. And she ate. That's good.' He reminded her to keep drinking the juice, and she did.

After a while she just ran down. Her eyes closed, and she drifted off to sleep.

Lee watched his partner for a few minutes. 'OK, this is the unresponsive cycle, keep her warm and check for shock. She looks OK, just sleeping, I guess.'

He got up and searched the cabin for more blankets and pillows. 'If she does get shock I'll need these,' he thought. He cleaned up the dishes and then just sat by the bed and dozed.

9:03am Friday Day 2

Lee was awakened by Amanda giggling.

"You look so peaceful there, Lee. Nobody looking at you would know you're a super-secret agent—the Agency's top man." She giggled again. "I guess I do know a couple of your secrets."

"Hey, Amanda, how're you doing?" He smiled at her.

"Y'know, you're cute, Lee. You have such amazing eyes—all green and stuff…"

"Well, thank you. You want some juice or water?"

"Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink," she said in a sing-song voice.

"I'll get you some water. Stay there." He got her a glass of water. She drank some, then started humming, then singing.

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream…"

'This is weird,' he thought, 'but she seems OK.'

Amanda spent the next hour and more singing, reciting nursery rhymes or snatches of poetry. She tried to get up and dance, but Lee kept her in bed. She "danced" in bed, giggling and generally happy.

Then she stopped mid-song with a look of surprise and just dropped off to sleep.

'That one wasn't so bad,' he thought. 'Two down, four to go.'

Lee refilled the water glass, ate some toast and checked Amanda. She looked...different. She was pale. He felt her forehead—cool and clammy. Her breathing was faster but shallow. He felt for the pulse in her neck—rapid but shallow.

'Uh oh. Shock. Maybe this won't be so easy, after all.'

He pulled the pillow out from under her head and placed it and another under her feet. He got a couple more blankets and covered her up.

"Come on, Amanda. Stay with me here." He rubbed her shoulders and arms briefly, then sat back. 'Nothing more I can do. Just wait, I guess.'

He waited and watched her as the minutes passed by. Slowly her color returned, her breathing slowed. He felt her forehead—warmer. Her pulse was slower, stronger. He let out a breath. 'She's better,' he thought with relief. He sat watching her closely. Suddenly every little thing was important.

11:45am Friday Day 2

Amanda stirred and moaned. Lee sat up.

"How are you doing there?" he asked in a hopeful voice.

She sniffed and turned away from him, and started crying.

"What's wrong, please let me help," he was at a loss as to what to do.

She just cried. And cried and cried.

'Well, this sure stinks,' he thought in a helpless tone.

He rubbed her back, put a pillow under her head and pulled the pillows from under her feet. She grabbed one and curled around it and continued crying into it.

Nothing he could do seemed to make a difference.

She wouldn't eat or drink, she just kept on crying. He continued to rub her back off and on, making soothing and reassuring noises, letting her know everything would be OK. That he was with her and she was not alone.

After what seemed like an eternity she gulped and stopped crying. Her breathing slowed and she dropped off to sleep.

Lee sighed. He stretched and made himself more coffee. He checked Amanda frequently: color, temperature, forehead, breathing, pulse. But she just slept, no shock this time. He ate, paced, checked his weapon, checked out the cabin, went through the backpack's contents, checked out the cupboards for food. And frequently checked Amanda's condition. He set food aside, hoping the next round she would be able to eat and drink something. By now it was well after 2pm, only three episodes so far. Three more to go. Their timing was off, it was more than an hour for the awake and down cycles. 'Well, however long it takes, I'm here for my partner. She has to get through this, she has to.'

2:35pm Friday Day 2

She stirred again, and moaned. He was instantly in the chair beside her bed.

"Hey, how are you doing?" he asked gently.

"Oh, Lee. Those bad guys kidnapped me. Where are they? They hurt me. They stuck me with needles." She was pale and wide-eyed and shaking.

"It's OK, they're gone. Nobody else here but you and me. Just us. You're safe. I'm here with you and I'll take care of you."

"But I'm so scared…" she tried to get out of the bed.

He tried to push her back down gently, "Amanda, you need to lie down. Just rest."

She was uncoordinated, but she still tried to get up. Lee finally sat on the bed, pulled her onto his lap, and took her into his arms. He held her against his chest, gently but firmly. She was trembling all over. He rocked her slowly.

"Relax, it's OK. You're safe. Just relax." He spoke soothingly.

She flailed a bit in his arms, but soon quieted down. She sighed and wrapped her arms around him.

"Lee, I'm still so scared. Why am I so scared? I know you'll keep me safe." Her voice was shaky and she still trembled on and off.

"Just relax, Amanda. Relax and let me hold you. I'll protect you, you're safe with me." He rocked her gently.

She quieted and they sat for while. Then she started and was shaking again.

Her voice was panicky, "They're gonna stick me with needles again. That mean man hit me, kicked me in the side. He said he was gonna kill me when it was all over."

"The bad guys are gone. You're safe." Lee held her firmly, as she squirmed.

"He kept asking me over and over, 'Tell me all of Scarecrow's secrets' over and over. I'm not you, but I know from before I couldn't tell him that. I kept thinking over and over 'I have to be strong. I can't give away Lee's secrets. Lee will rescue me.' "

"And I'm here now. You're safe." He continued rocking her gently.

"Oh Lee," she sounded desperate, "why am I so afraid? You're here. You're holding me. I'm still so scared. I'm still shaking…"

Lee kept reassuring her. She was quiet and then agitated by turns. The fear came and went. Finally she sighed and went to sleep.

'She's asleep again.' He carefully laid her on the bed and covered her up. After a few minutes she got pale and her forehead was cool and clammy. 'Damn! Shock again. Does the physical movement contribute to the shock afterward? Have to keep her still.'

He piled on the blankets, moved the pillow from under her head and elevated her feet again. But after a few more minutes she still wasn't getting any better. 'She's still cold. How can I warm her up?'

He took off his shoes and gun and climbed into the bed with her. He pulled the covers over them both and wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close to him. She sighed and snuggled into this chest. 'That's gotta be good,' he thought with relief.

She slept and after a while he checked her forehead—warmer. He looked at her face and her color had returned; her pulse was slow and steady. He breathed a deep sigh of relief. 'Four down, two to go. This was a rough one. Hopefully the last two won't be worse. But whatever it takes, I'm here for her.' He kissed her forehead. 'Rest well, Amanda. You're doing great. Just hang in there for me. You'll be OK, you'll get through this. We'll get through this…together. We're partners, best friends…more? I can't lose you. Not after all these years. You've got to get better…' He drifted off to sleep.

5:45pm Friday Day 2

Amanda stirred and moaned. Lee was instantly alert. He sat up and looked at her. Her eyes were open but she was distant, like she was thinking about something. He got up and tucked the blankets back around her after adjusting the pillows.

"Hey, Amanda, you doing OK?" he asked hopefully.

She was silent.

"Amanda, talk to me, please?" he asked in a beseeching tone.

"Mmmm?" She seemed to have heard him, but she didn't seem to be all there. He got some juice.

"Amanda, why don't you drink some juice?"

"Mmmm…"

He put his arm behind her shoulders and lifted her up a bit. He held the cup to her lips and she drank all the juice. But she made no attempt to hold the cup or help. 'Well, she drank it at least.'

"Do you want some soup?" he asked hopefully.

She didn't respond. Her eyes were open, but she was looking past him, not focusing on anything.

He warmed up another can of soup and brought it to the bed. He propped her up with pillows, and tried a spoonful of soup at her lips. She ate it, and a few more spoonfuls, but then just stopped responding, staring off into space. Lee wiped her lips and finished the soup himself when it was apparent she wouldn't eat any more. He removed the extra pillows and laid her back in the bed. She was still and quiet, just staring off into space.

'She had juice and a little soup. That's better than nothing. If she doesn't want to talk, hey, that's OK too. At least it beats the crying or the terrors.' He watched her for a few minutes. 'OK, it's worse. Just staring off into nowhere is really creepy.'

He spoke, to reassure himself as much as her. "Amanda, I'm here with you. You aren't alone. Just remember that, OK?" He sat next to her and took her hand as she stared off into space, oblivious. "Look, you're gonna be OK. Just a little while more. It's been rough, but it's mostly behind you now. You'll be back to yourself and we'll be back catching the bad guys like we always have. I need my partner back. I need you, Amanda."

His heart ached for her. 'This stillness—this unresponsiveness—that wasn't his Amanda. My Amanda. Yeah, my Amanda. Nobody else can have her. She's my partner, my best friend, my … what? She's very special to me. I need her in my life. Now and always. Always? Don't go there. Just concentrate on here and now. She needs me, I have to get her through this.'

"Hey partner, just hang in there. I'm here and I'll keep you safe. Now and always." He kissed her forehead and she briefly focused on his face—but then her eyes drifted shut. She slept.

He watched her sleep for a quarter hour. No shock this time. He settled in the chair and just watched her, his thoughts drifting.

8:18pm Friday Day 2

"Lee?"

He started and came out of his daze.

"Amanda, hey, you doin' OK?"

"Oh Lee, I'm so tired. I hurt everywhere. I'm hungry. You got anything to eat?"

"Yes ma'am. Coming right up." He made toast and got some fruit.

"Here's some toast, and I've got a banana for you."

"Thanks." She ate the toast and banana, and had more juice.

"You're doing well, Amanda. It's good to see you eat." He ate with her.

"Thank you, Lee. I'm done now. Can I rest?"

"Of course, you just lie there." He cleaned up the remains of their meal, got more juice, and sat back down in the chair next to the bed.

"Lee, those men, will they be back?" she asked in a questioning tone.

"No. If they've not returned by now, they're gone. It was a rogue operation. They had no backup." He spoke reassuringly.

"Oh. So why are we still here? Can we go back home?"

He was guarded, "We need to stay a while longer. Overnight, until you feel better."

"But I thought it was night already. I thought it was yesterday they brought me here. It was afternoon when we arrived…at least I think I remember it was afternoon…"

"Yes, it probably was. And you were here overnight. I got here around dawn, and they left about that time. I've been with you all day. It's gonna be dark soon."

"Lee, I'm confused—why do we have to stay overnight here? Why can't we go back now?"

He hedged, "You need to rest and regain your strength."

"Rest." She thought a moment. "I'm so weak and tired. I remember needles, they gave me some sorta shots or something…:"

"Yeah, you were drugged and interrogated. But you're at the end of it. You just need to rest and sleep well. Then we can leave and get back to D.C."

"Can't we just drive out of here?"

He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "The car's at the end of the road. It's a bit of a hike. I had to hide it to make sure they didn't see me when I got here. I didn't know how many there were."

"I think there were just two of them…"

"Yeah, two. But I didn't know that going in, so I had to be careful."

"So we have to walk to your car." She sounded defeated.

"Yeah, it's maybe a couple miles."

"A couple miles?" she was incredulous.

"I didn't know for sure how far off the road this house was. Once I got here and the other guys left… I haven't had time to go back for it."

"You could go now."

He paused before answering. "Not really. I need to stay here with you."

She looked at him with a measured gaze. "What aren't you telling me, Lee?"

He sighed. "You're still under the influence of the last drug they gave you. I don't want to leave you alone. It's been mostly OK, but I don't want to chance something going wrong when I'm not here."

"What could go wrong?"

"Ahh, you've had a rough time. Now's not the time to go into it—but I'm really glad I was here for you. You're OK, you're gonna recover fully. You just need rest." He smiled reassuringly.

Amanda sat up and pointed her finger at him, "You're keeping something from me…" Then she got pale and lay back in the bed. "Ohhhh—I'm so weak and tired. Wow! I feel like I've been hit by a truck."

"I can guarantee that didn't happen to you. But you do need rest. So please, just stay there in bed. I'll get you whatever you need."

"OK." She thought for a minute. "So we'll walk to your car in the morning and get back to the Agency."

"We'll get back. You need to get checked out by the doctors."

"Doctors?"

"They drugged you, its standard procedure. Don't worry about it."

"So if it's no big deal, why do you make such a fuss every time you have to go to the doctor's?"

"That's different."

"Uh huh. Sure, Stetson. Tell me another one."

"This time it is different. I'm not willing to risk you, so you are going to see the doctors."

She smiled at him, "Oh, Lee. That's sweet. Thank you."

They were silent for a few minutes.

"Lee?" she thought of something new.

"Yeah?"

"Does Mr. Melrose know where we are?"

"I left him a note and maps—he should know."

"So why isn't someone else here by now?"

Lee started. He hadn't thought about that—he was so focused on caring for Amanda, making sure she didn't die. "That's a good question, Amanda. I don't know, maybe something went wrong. But there's no phone here so we're cut off. Once I get back to the car I'll try my mobile phone, but it probably won't work until we get closer to D.C."

"Lee, Mr. Melrose will be really upset. Does he know I was kidnapped?"

"Oh yeah, the whole Agency knows. The rumor was someone big had been grabbed and was being interrogated. When you weren't in the park by the cannon—but your car was there—I figured it was you they got. I couldn't have been more than five minutes behind you. I tried calling your house, but your mother said you'd already left."

"Why would you call, Lee?"

"TP called me and said the meet wasn't safe. I hadn't left my apartment yet. I hoped to stop you, but you'd already left. I left immediately but you got there before me and they must have been waiting for someone to show. When you showed up—they took you." He ran his hands through his hair. "I'm so sorry, Amanda. If I had any idea…"

She reached over and touched his knee. "Lee, you didn't know. And you're here now, so it's OK." She smiled reassuringly.

He took her hands and held them. "It'll only be OK when we're back and you are all better." He kissed her hands. "I need my partner. We've got work to do and I work better with my partner."

"Oh, Lee…." She blushed.

They chatted for a while longer, then Amanda sighed, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

'Thank God, that's the end of it,' Lee thought. He watched her for a while and she seemed fine—no shock. He checked his watch, 9:52pm. 'That was longer than 12 hours. Either their information was off or this drug isn't as precise as they said it was.'

He puttered around the cabin, and tucked Amanda in for the night, kissing her on the forehead. Finally, he settled on the couch to rest. 'It's been a very long day. But she'll sleep and we'll get out in the morning and get back to the Agency.' He drifted off to sleep.

11:04pm Friday Day 2

"Nooooo! I'm dying, please help me!"

Lee was up like a shot and at Amanda's side. She was sitting up in bed, pale, wide-eyed and terrified. He grasped her shoulders and tried to turn her toward him.

"Amanda, wake up! You're having a nightmare!"

She turned frightened eyes to him. "Lee, I'm gonna die, I know it! You can't save me this time." Tears of fear were running down her face. She was shaking, pale and disoriented.

"Amanda, you're NOT going to die! You're done, you'll get better!"

"No Lee, I can feel it. I can feel death creeping up inside me. My toes, it's past my toes. It's creeping up my feet—almost to my knees!"

Lee was momentarily panicked. 'What do I do now? It's like another drug episode. That would make seven. Oh, damn!'

He swiftly tried to take control. He pressed her gently back into a prone position. "Amanda, calm down, you'll be OK. Just lie back and don't move so much. It can't get you if you lie still."

"You don't understand, I can feel it! You've gotta promise me, Lee."

"What?"

"You've gotta promise me you'll take care of mother and the boys. They need someone. You can move into the house. Please, I can die easy if I know you'll be there for them."

"Oh God. Amanda—you're NOT gonna die. It's the drug, just hang in there. We'll get through this. You'll be OK. It's just the damned drug."

"Please Lee, please, I'm begging you. My family is all I have. I can't die knowing they'll just be left alone. Please promise you'll take care of them. You'll be good for the boys, they need someone reliable. You've always been there for me. You won't have to do it alone—mother will help you. I couldn't have done it without mother after Joe left. She'll help you. Please Lee, I'm gonna die. Please take care of my family, please." The tears were running down her face.

Her fear and desperation were tearing at his heart. He took a deep calming breath and tried to regain a measure of objectivity. He stroked her forehead, warm and damp. Her pulse was rapid but strong, she was pale but it didn't seem like shock. 'Just another drug episode. Great, just great!' he fumed.

He took her hands in his and sat beside her on the bed.

"Amanda, You. Are. Not. Going. To. Die." She started to object but he continued. "But I do promise, that if you do die, I'll take care of your family. You are my partner—it's the least I can do. We watch out for each other and I'll take care of your family. Hell, I feel like I know them already, I've been watching them from your backyard for the last three years."

She calmed a bit. "Thank you, Lee. I know I could count on you. Oh! It's up to my knees, I can feel it! My legs are numb. Just like when those guys thought I was you. They tied me up and put me in a box. My legs got numb that time, too. I was so scared. I sure didn't know what was going on. But then they said a trade had been arranged. They tied me up again and put me back in the box. Then we were at that golf course. I saw you over there with the other man and I knew it would be OK."

Lee shook his head. "I was sure scared that trade would go wrong. They have been known to double-cross if they can get away with it." He sighed. "But it turned out OK. You were safe and we did get them all in the end."

"It's like the radiation, creeping up through me."

Lee was confused, "Radiation?"

"With the nuclear bomb. I was so scared but I couldn't leave with mother and the boys, you needed me. I had the information in my head. I couldn't go and let D.C. get blown up…"

"And we're all glad you stayed. I would have pulled the red wire."

"I was so worried Francine and I would freeze solid in Marvin's freezer. I feel strange. Like I did that time—like there isn't enough air."

"Just relax. C'mon, just relax and rest. I'm here and you're safe. It's just us."

"I can feel it creeping up my legs. I'm dying, I know it!"

All Lee could do was to be reassuring and stay with her. She was worried about dying and reliving the more traumatic moments of their partnership by turns. He made sure she stayed in bed and didn't move too much.

'Is this the end of it? Or will there be more? God, I hope not. She's definitely weaker. And she won't eat this time. Hopefully she can sleep after this, sleep through the night.'

Amanda still thought she was dying, but slowly got more relaxed. Her chatter ran down and she complained of being cold. Lee checked her forehead, pulse and color, but it wasn't shock. Still she said she felt cold.

"Please, Lee, I'm dying. I'm so cold. Please hold me. Maybe I can warm up if you're holding me."

He got under the covers and pulled her into his arms. "I've got you. Just rest. Sleep. You'll feel lots better in the morning."

"Yeah, if I don't die first."

"You're NOT gonna die. I won't let you." He kissed her on the forehead. "Go to sleep. I'll stay with you all night."

She sighed and snuggled against him. She drifted off to sleep.

Lee waited a few minutes, checking Amanda's forehead and pulse. Then when it seemed she was really, deeply asleep, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

'That was the worst. My poor Amanda… She's always so hopeful, so optimistic. Hearing her say she was going to die, begging me to take care of her family…Oh God. This drug is a real bitch. She was all over the place—silly, normal, crying, terrified, out of it. But this one, feeling death creeping up her body, this was the worst. I really hope that was the end of it. I don't know if she can deal with much more. She's so weak.'

He shifted and checked her forehead and pulse again. 'No shock. That's good. I hope she's strong enough to walk out of here tomorrow. Hell, I'll carry her out if I have to. Oh Amanda, you don't deserve this. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this.' He sighed and stroked her hair. 'I just hope she can recover fully from all of this. The bruises will heal, but can she deal with the aftereffects of that experimental drug? She was all over the place. And she was so scared. Maybe Pfaff can help her. He's a bit strange with his ice cream, but he is used to dealing with this sort of thing. He should be able to help Amanda. He has to be able to help her. I need her back like she was. My partner, my best friend, my Amanda, my … Amanda. I can't lose her, not now. Not after all this time. I'll do whatever it takes to get her back and get her well.' He kissed her forehead again and snuggled in for the night.

He spoke softly, "Whatever it takes, partner, I'm here for you. You're safe. I'm holding you. Sleep well, and in the morning we'll go back to D.C. You'll be just fine. I'll make sure of it. I promise." He closed his eyes and slept with Amanda in his arms.


	3. Chapter 3

6:06 am Saturday Day 3

Lee awoke slowly. He was in a tight place—crowded—as his mind cleared he remembered. He was in a narrow bed, wedged between the wall and Amanda. She was still deeply asleep in his arms.

He shifted his focus to her: breathing slow but good, he touched her forehead—not hot, not cold; felt gently for the pulse in her neck—slow but strong. Good. She was just asleep, good. He relaxed.

Hopefully the drug's effects had worn off. He checked his watch: 6:06 am, they had slept the night through. He was surprised he had slept so long and deeply. Well, it had been a stressful couple days. And the rest seemed to have done both of them good.

Today was Saturday, day three. He had been out of contact since early Friday morning, and today they would have to get back to D.C. If that doctor hadn't called in the cavalry by now, he probably had just run off. But they had to get back, soon. Billy would be frantic and furious. And Amanda needed medical attention—those drugs might have lasting effects—she needed to be checked out.

'I'll give her until 7 to sleep—then we're up. I'll get food and drink into her, then get to the car, a two mile trek.' He'd prefer she walked it, but he was prepared to carry her out also.

He shifted slightly and pulled Amanda closer to him. She sighed and snuggled into his chest. He smiled. Even asleep she trusted him to keep her safe. He realized he should be a bit apprehensive about that—but he wasn't. He was touched by her unwavering trust. In him. How did he get so lucky to have this incredible woman as his partner? It was so much more than luck she had been at that train station almost three years ago. She had come a long way in those three years. And so had he. And he knew the reason for his change was right here, in his arms.

He thought about his life before Amanda, and now. What a difference. Before he had the job and ... diversions to fill his non-working hours. Now he had the job … and a life. And that life seemed to revolve around Amanda. His Amanda. His partner, his best friend, the woman he … loved. 'Uh oh!'

Partners shouldn't be "involved". Of course that rule was broken regularly. But he would still have to be discreet and careful. Life was about to get a lot more complicated if Amanda was interested in him as more than a friend and partner.

'No guts, no glory. I know she cares for me. I'll just have to take my time and go slowly. Start with dinners, movies, concerts. Get to know her better outside work. Get her used to being around me away from the Agency. She'll want me to get to know her family. Well, let them get to know me. I know them pretty well. I've been watching them all for the past three years. But they don't know me except as a voice on the phone. Amanda's boss.'

'What if she doesn't want me romantically? Could I lose her? I can't lose her. Life without Amanda wouldn't be a life, just existence. How did she do it? How did she manage to sneak past my defenses and change my life? Why didn't I see it coming? Would I have stopped it if I had seen it coming? I thought I wasn't ready to fall in love. Is anyone ever ready to fall in love? All I know is somehow she's become everything good and valuable and important to me.'

'I'm … in love … with Amanda King. I'm not ready to say it to her. I'm still not comfortable admitting it to myself. But I know I need her in my life—forever. Forever. Oh, God!'

Lee's mind went totally blank. Was this shock? What now? Instincts for practical action took over and he checked his watch: 6:51am, close enough to 7.

"Amanda. Amanda, wake up! We need to get back to D.C. Amanda?"

"Mmmm—Lee…" she sighed and snuggled closer to him.

"Hey, Amanda, wake up. C'mon, we've got to get moving."

"Mother—five more minutes. I'm having such a nice dream…"

"Do I have any part in that dream?"

"It's all about you, Lee." She was silent for a few moments. "Lee? Are you here?"

"Yes, Amanda, I'm here."

"Lee, what? Where? Oh…I feel awful."

"You've had a rough time, but we'll get you back to D.C. and you'll get checked out by the doctors. They'll help you get better."

"Lee, what happened? I had some really bad nightmares. These men thought I was you, they hurt me, you weren't here. I was scared."

"I'm here now. You're safe. Come on, get up and I'll make you some breakfast."

"Oh, I couldn't eat." Amanda's stomach rumbled.

"Your stomach has a different opinion. Toast, fruit, juice, you'll like it."

"Coffee—I need coffee."

"Ahhh, I don't think that's a good idea right now. C'mon, let's get up and I'll make you breakfast. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day—or so I've been told." He was trying to cajole her into action. It wasn't working.

"All right, all right. I still feel awful. I hurt everywhere."

Lee knew if Amanda was complaining this much, it must be pretty bad. But she had to eat and they had to get back to the car—so he decided to just keep things moving. Once they got to his car, she could rest again.

He sat up in bed, and pulled her up with him. She was still in his arms, her head against his chest. He took her chin and tilted her face up to him.

"Good morning. You awake yet?"

"I must be … I'm sitting up. OK, I'll get up," she grumbled. She stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom.

Lee watched her—she was still shaky—but hopefully food and drink would help.

He started coffee for himself and toast for Amanda. He got out juice and a couple pieces of fruit. He cut the fruit up to make it look more appetizing.

Soon Amanda sat with the remains of her toast and juice. She had eaten most of the fruit as well.

While she was eating, Lee checked the backpack for all he had placed there. Vials of the drugs they had used, plus all the used needles and other medical paraphernalia. Anything to get residue for tests. He also made sure the recorder and tapes from Amanda's interrogation were in the bag as well. He surreptitiously checked on the man he had shot and dragged into the back room. Yep—still dead.

At 8:03am Lee checked his watch, finished his coffee and cleaned up the remains of Amanda's breakfast. He put a couple bottles of juice and pieces of fruit in the backpack. Normally it should take less than an hour to walk two miles, but Amanda was still somewhat shaky, so he doubled his time estimate to get to the car. Once there he could try to call on the cell phone and check in. Have a NEST team standing by at the hospital for Amanda. She would need full blood work and possible detox for the two different drugs she had been given.

"OK, Amanda, let's get going." He tried to sound cheerful and upbeat.

"Where are we going, Lee?"

"To the car and back to D.C." he patiently explained.

"Where is your car?"

Lee was a bit frustrated. He had explained it before but obviously she was still fuzzy from the drugs. "It's a bit of a walk. I had to park out of sight. Come on, it's not long, a couple miles."

"Oh. OK." She sounded dull.

They gathered their things and left.

The first mile wasn't bad. Amanda was slow, but she seemed to loosen up a bit and they made pretty good time, considering. Then, just short of the road, she ran out of energy.

"Lee, stop. I'm dead on my feet." She sat on the ground where she had stopped.

He brought out a bottle of juice. "Here, have something to drink, you are just thirsty."

He hoped the juice would give her some energy. He worried about how much she had eaten since she had been kidnapped on Thursday. He had tried to get her to eat and drink the day before, but she hadn't eaten much.

She drank the juice and just sat on the ground, staring into space.

"Are you ready to go?" Lee asked her hopefully.

"What? Can't we just rest here for a while?"

"We already had a rest. Let's go, I'll help you." He helped her to her feet, and put her arm around his neck. They continued for a few steps, but she was stumbling more than walking. Finally he just picked her up.

"Lee, what are you doing?"

"I'm carrying you. You can rest once we get to the car."

The last quarter mile was tough, but he made it to the car. Once she was buckled into the passenger seat, Amanda fell asleep almost immediately. Lee checked her forehead and pulse. OK for now. 'She's just exhausted.'

He started the Corvette and took off. The phone was out of range, but he drove as fast as he could safely go.

11:15am Saturday Day 3

Once he had been on the highway for a while Lee finally got a signal on the phone, and got ahold of Billy.

"Scarecrow, where the hell are you?" Billy demanded.

"Billy, I'm coming into D.C.—I have Amanda—we need a NEST team."

"Is she injured? Do we need an ambulance to meet you?"

"No, but they drugged her and tried to get her to talk—they thought she was Scarecrow…"

"Not again!" Billy was incredulous.

"Yeah, they used two different drugs. She's OK so far, but she's dopey and sleeping right now. I'm worried about her, one of the drugs was experimental and hallucinogenic."

"How do you know that?" his section chief demanded.

"I overheard them talking—it was the last drug they used. I took one of them out just after they gave her the injection. The other guy ran off. That was yesterday morning. But I couldn't follow, I had to stay with Amanda—it was pretty bad, Billy. It took almost 18 hours for that drug to run through her system. Then she slept. I had to park a couple miles down the road, so I needed her awake enough to walk it."

"Did she do OK?"

"Mostly. Anyhow, have NEST standing by. Where should I bring her?"

"Come to Gallilee General—it's on your way. What's your ETA?"

"Another hour or more. I'm pouring it on. Can you alert the highway patrol, I don't need to be stopped for speeding."

"Will do. Do what you have to, but get her in fast!" Billy ended the call.

12:30pm Saturday Day 3

Once he got to the hospital, the NEST team took Amanda. Lee felt lost. He should be in there with her, she wouldn't know what was going on, she needed his presence, needed to hear his voice.

Billy met him in the waiting area. "Scarecrow, report!"

"Billy, I've got to get in there. Amanda needs me."

"She's with the best team we have—they'll take good care of her. Now report."

"OK, OK." Lee ran his hand through his hair. "I got a line on a property in the Shenandoah Mountains late Friday-early Saturday. I found a map and directions and took off."

"You seemed to have neglected to tell anyone where you were going." Billy was annoyed.

Lee was surprised. "I left a message with the switchboard, and a map and a note in your office."

"That explains the strange message I got when I inquired about you. There was a new trainee on the switchboard, and apparently she got things confused. I never saw any map or note."

"Well I left them on your desk before I left." Lee was defensive now.

"That's something for another time. What came next?" Billy asked.

"I just had to get to Amanda. I had a meet with Lana. She found out some rogue Romanians had her. They thought she was me—I guess their records haven't been updated since the last time she was kidnapped in my place."

"You'd think those governments would talk to each other once in a while." Billy said dryly.

"Yeah. Well, I got there just after dawn. There were two of them, one was a doctor, he did all the injections. The other guy was the interrogator. They hadn't gotten anything out of her—they didn't even know they had the wrong person. She was great, Billy. All they got was the secret ingredients for her poppy seed cake. Can you believe it?" Lee was proud of his partner.

"She's really something, Scarecrow. You said it was bad…"

"Uh, the last drug—it cycles the metabolism. One hour it's accelerated—that's the interrogation phase. Then one hour of low metabolism—unresponsive. The doc said some subjects went into shock—some died." He paused and gathered his thoughts. "She was really talkative the first round. Then she just crashed and slept. Second round she was—silly. She sang songs and stuff. Then she crashed really bad—she got cold, weak pulse. I treated her as if she was in shock—got her warm, feet elevated. I tried to get food and drink into her when she was awake, she took some. Third round she just cried. I swear if that guy hadn't already been dead I'd have killed him again—slowly. Then she crashed, it wasn't as bad as before but I still tried to keep her warm."

Lee continued, "The fourth round was bad, she was terrified. All I could do was hold her and tell her it would be OK. After that she went into shock again. I kept her warm, did what I could—which was damn little. Fifth round she was mostly out of it. I don't even know if she recognized me or not. Then she crashed again—just slept, but I still kept her warm, just in case. Sixth round she was mostly lucid and we just talked. She told me what had happened up to then. But she was getting weaker. I tried to get her to eat—she did some, not much but some. Then she crashed again."

He paused and took a deep breath. "I thought that was it, but I guess there was still some of the drug in her system. There were only supposed to be six cycles, 12 hours in all. The last round scared me the most. First, she thought she was dying, she could feel death creeping up her body. I couldn't convince her otherwise. She asked me to take care of her mother and the boys… Then she started having flashbacks—she relived almost every case we ever had. That was weird. Then she crashed for the last time. I just kept her warm and we slept through the night."

Billy was reassuring, "It sounds like you did very well, Scarecrow. She's alive and you got her here. You even got her to eat some. That's got to help."

"I don't know, Billy. She was still pretty out of it this morning. She said she hurt everywhere. She's got a couple bruises where they roughed her up—her face, right side and hip. But she said she hurt everywhere and felt awful. Amanda never complains. I hope I did the right thing. They said the subject shouldn't be moved until the drug had run its course and the subject had rested. That's why I waited to get back. Even if the car was right at the house, I figured I shouldn't move her until after the drug had run its course. And I couldn't drive and deal with her at the same time. And if she went into shock while I was driving…Well, I figured I had to wait." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

"It seems you did the right thing," Billy reassured him. "Why don't you go home and get cleaned up and I'll let you know when they have something."

"No! I can't leave Amanda—she may wake up and not know where she is—she'll be upset—she'll need me to be there…" Lee was stressed.

"Scarecrow, calm down man!" Billy took a breath. "OK, I'll send someone by your place to pick up a change of clothes. You can clean up here. We'll arrange for a full debriefing while you are waiting."

3:26pm Saturday Day 3

After Lee was debriefed and cleaned up, Dr. Kelford came out to Billy and Lee in the waiting area.

"Mr. Melrose. Mr. Stetson." She addressed the two men waiting for word on Amanda. "We have some preliminary results from the blood tests. Good work, by the way. Bringing those samples helped us greatly."

Lee was anxious, "How is Amanda?"

Dr. Kelford was professional, "She is stable and resting."

Billy and Lee exchanged looks. "What aren't you telling me?" Billy asked.

The doctor looked a bit wary. "The drugs she was given—each one was pretty powerful. But two drugs in less than 24 hours—that's a lot of strain for anyone's system. Plus we don't know how they might interact. Or how she will react to the drugs, individually or collectively."

"So what are you doing for her?" Lee demanded.

"We examined her and treated her injuries. Took blood for tests. Other than that we really can't do much of anything. We have her on IV saline and glucose, to keep her from getting dehydrated and offer some nutrition, but we can't give her any other medications right now. She's still got residue of those drugs in her system, and we don't know how it would interact. So we wait until she comes around."

The pager sounded. "Dr. Kelford to 203, Dr. Kelford to 203 stat."

The doctor took off with Lee and Billy right behind her.

In the room it was chaos. Amanda was screaming and fighting. There was blood, the staff were trying to put her in restraints. Amanda was fighting for all she was worth.

"What happened?" Dr. Kelford demanded.

The head nurse replied, "Doctor, she woke up and asked where she was. I told her she was in the hospital, and she was being taken care of. She asked for Lee and when I told her she should rest, she just started fighting. She tore out her IV line she's…"

"Amanda, I'm here!" Lee shouted above the chaos.

"Lee, where are you?" Amanda sounded desperate. "You've got to save me, they're hurting me!" Amanda was still fighting the staff trying to hold her down.

Lee muscled the hospital staff aside and took Amanda's uninjured hand. "I'm here, Amanda, I'm here."

"Lee, is it really you?"

"Yes, it's me. Look at me." He took her face in his hands, "It's really me."

"Oh good. I was scared. They were hurting me. Stickin' more needles in me—I don't like needles, Lee…"

As soon as Lee had stepped forward, Dr. Kelford had motioned for the hospital staff to stay back.

Lee spoke soothingly, "Amanda, you're hurt. Your hand is bloody—we have to fix it."

He took her left hand where the IV had been torn out. She looked at her hand with surprise.

"Oh, I'm bleeding—that's what hurts. Lee please—can you fix it?"

Lee moved to the opposite side of the bed and took her face in his hands again, turning her to look at him. "Sure, I'll fix it."

He nodded to the personnel, and a nurse stepped to the side of the bed where Amanda couldn't see. She took her left hand and began bandaging the wound. Lee kept Amanda's eyes on him the whole time. Once the nurse was finished, she moved back.

"Amanda, we need to change the sheets. Can you get up?" Lee found a robe and offered it to her.

"Uh, OK." She got up and put the robe on. Lee led her to the chair in the corner and she sat. Lee stayed by her and she clung to his hand, looking at him the entire time. An orderly changed the bed and left.

Amanda looked around the room at the group standing by the door. "Lee, who are these people?"

"You know Billy, and Dr. Kelford." He tried to sound reassuring.

"Yeah, I guess. But who are the other people?"

"They are the doctors and nurses who are taking care of you."

"Why am I here, Lee?" She was confused.

"What do you remember, Amanda?"

She thought a moment. "I feel awful. I ache everywhere. I'm tired and I want to rest."

Lee looked at Dr. Kelford, who nodded.

"OK, why don't you get back into bed and rest now." He led her back to the bed.

"Yeah, I'll do that. Lee—don't leave me. I'm scared—these strange people—they want to hurt me—they stuck needles into me—keep them away from me please?"

"I'll stay right here. I won't leave you, I promise. OK?" He smiled at her.

"OK, thanks. You'll keep me safe. I know it." She drifted off to sleep.

Dr. Kelford motioned Billy and the staff out into the hallway. "It looks like she's going through some sort of detox or withdrawal. Paranoia is not uncommon. She has fixated on Scarecrow as safe—it's best if we let him stay with her. I want to call Dr. Pfaff in on this one, he may have some insights I don't."

Billy asked, "How long will it take for her to come out of it?"

Dr. Kelford was at a loss. "I have no idea."

After a few minutes, Lee opened the door and leaned out. "She's asleep. I'm not surprised she freaked. They kept her tied to a chair from the time she got there. Trying to restrain her probably made her flash back…"

"Yes, I understand now, Stetson," Dr. Kelford replied.

Billy spoke next, "Scarecrow, you just stay in there with her. I'll make sure you get food. Do you need books or magazines or anything else?"

"Yeah," he replied, "something to read might be nice."

Dr. Kelford spoke again, "We should move you—we have a suite upstairs—more private, secure—two bedrooms also."

Lee nodded, "Yeah, I hadn't thought about that. How long will it take for her to shake this?"

"We don't know exactly." Dr. Kelford was rueful. "If it were only one drug I'd say two to three days, but with two drugs…"

"Does today count?" Billy asked quickly.

She answered quickly, "Probably, but plan on her being here at least one more day, maybe longer."

Lee spoke emphatically, "Hey, I'm here for my partner—however long it takes, I'm here for her."

Dr. Kelford was more placating, "OK, Stetson, we'll get clothes for both of you—she'll probably be more comfortable in regular clothing. Go back in and we'll get you both upstairs when we're ready." The doctor then pushed Lee back into Amanda's room and pulled the door shut after him.

She turned to Billy, "Is this the same agent that absolutely refused to ever work with a partner again? Was that only three years ago?"

Billy sighed. "Eric Jarvis died nearly four years ago. For almost a year I tried to get him to work with almost anyone. He refused and caused a lot of grief in the unit. Then Amanda came along, and somehow they clicked."

"Right away?" Dr. Kelford was incredulous.

Billy smiled ruefully, "It took a while—OK, almost a year—but she is more stubborn than he is. How she put up with him that first year, I'll never know. Even now, they still have some pretty spectacular arguments. But they always make up and they make a great team. Actually they have the best track record of any partnership in my unit." He paused. "Will she recover?" Billy was worried, too.

"I just don't know. But I do know that if she is calmer with her partner by her side, then that's what we'll do. I'll make the arrangements now for the isolation unit, and we'll move them upstairs as soon as we can. Hopefully while she's still asleep." The doctor paused and took a breath. "Melrose, the way he's acting toward her, if she doesn't recover fully, you'll probably lose two agents, not just one."

Billy nodded darkly, "Don't I know it."

4:52pm Saturday Day 3

Lee helped wheel Amanda up to the 7th floor isolation unit. Usually it was used for patients with infectious diseases as a quarantine facility. But nobody needed quarantine, and it was a semi-normal living environment that Dr. Kelford and Dr. Pfaff thought would help Amanda feel more calm.

There was a spacious living area with two separate bedrooms opening off each end. Each bedroom had a double bed and its own bathroom. There was also an easy chair and reading lamp, for private reading, or rest, if the bed was not what the patient wanted.

The main room resembled a hotel suite: in the center, there was a comfortable couch with a coffee table and a big TV with a VCR, there were many books and games on a shelf nearby. One corner had a dining nook with a table and chairs plus a sink, a microwave and a small but well-stocked refrigerator, and shelves and cupboards with dishes and snack foods. The other side had two recliners flanking a small table with reading lamps. Except for the locking door and secured windows, it was warm and cozy, quite homelike.

Amanda had been brought up the elevator sleeping in her hospital bed, and Lee had carried her into the suite and put her into bed. She had barely stirred. He tucked her in and left the bedroom door open so he could hear if she woke up.

Dr. Kelford and Dr. Pfaff met with Billy and Lee in the main room of the suite. They spoke softly.

Billy started the meeting, "What do we know here?"

Dr. Pfaff spoke first. "We have a good idea about one of the drugs she was given. Normally, just rest, forcing fluids and taking it easy would do it. Simple detox—however that second experimental drug… We know it's hallucinogenic, and that's the problem. Until we can fully test and analyze it, we really don't know much."

Dr. Kelford spoke next, "So far she seems to be reacting well physically. She has bruises, and the wound from removing the IV, but aside from the possible shock you reported, Scarecrow, her vitals are quite good." She continued, "You seem to have done remarkably well taking care of her. And good job, keeping her still that last day. I think that may have been the best thing you could have done."

Lee replied, "When that doctor said the subjects shouldn't be moved, I figured he knew what he was talking about. So we stayed put."

Dr Pfaff continued, "Now we have to deal with any possible psychological side effects of her ordeal, including flashbacks. She seems paranoid, which is understandable after being held captive and subjected to interrogation using medical means along with physical duress. She is physically stable, so for now we'll keep the other medical personnel away unless something goes wrong."

Pfaff continued, "Psychologically, she's on shaky ground. We know about the paranoia, she seems to have trouble remembering short-term and perhaps longer. That's to be expected, especially considering the chemical soup in her veins. She has fixated on Scarecrow as safe. That's good and something we can use. As long as he is with her, she will probably stay calm."

Lee interjected, "Like I said before, I'm here as long as Amanda needs me."

Billy replied, "You're both off the roster until we find out just how Mrs. King will react to all of this."

Dr. Kelford spoke next, "We have prepared the suite here for you. It's secure, private and we have surveillance if we need it. We'll have food brought in and we'll monitor you off and on. There are phones in the suite and a panic button in every room. If something goes wrong, don't hesitate to call us."

Lee nodded, "I'll do that."

She continued, "Now we'll have to be careful about food—I don't want her eating or drinking anything that might interact with the residual drugs in her system. Three days is usual for standard detox, so for at least that long, no alcohol, no caffeine, no chocolate. We'll keep the food light and easily digested. No complicated sauces or spices. You need to encourage her to drink—force fluids—it helps flush the drugs out of her system."

Lee nodded again, "Force fluids, I can do that. Anything in particular?"

"No," Dr. Kelford replied. "Just whatever she wants of what we provide. We'll keep things as pure as possible, no artificial sweeteners or carbonation. Just juices, milk, water."

"Anything else I should look out for?" Lee asked.

Dr. Pfaff looked uneasy, "You know her well—so anything uncharacteristic or unusual. She will probably have nightmares—just be reassuring—from what we've seen so far, just your presence should be enough to calm her. We have video tapes available for you, but it's a careful selection. Nothing heavy or intense, mostly light comedy, musicals, documentaries. The same for the selection in books and magazines, though she may not have the inclination to read."

Dr. Kelford spoke up, "We also have a treadmill and stationary bicycle outside that we'll bring in here shortly. Exercise can also help, but make sure she drinks before and afterward. Dehydration can interfere with the detox process."

Dr. Pfaff was next, "I'll be by every day to see if she wants to talk—but realistically she needs to detox first. I'll be monitoring the process, because how she reacts can help with future exposure to this drug, if it does get used again."

Lee pointed accusingly at Dr. Pfaff, "So Amanda's the guinea pig in all this—and you're just using her for your research."

Pfaff thought a moment and calmly replied, "I suppose so. We didn't plan this, so we have to make the best of a bad situation."

Billy spoke to change the subject, "Will she recover fully?"

Dr. Pfaff and Dr. Kelford exchanged looks. Dr. Kelford spoke first. "As I said, physically she seems well on the way to a full recovery."

Dr. Pfaff spoke next, "As to psychologically, only time will tell. I have a feeling how we handle it now will determine how well she recovers. We don't know what we're dealing with, so we just have to do what seems right, and hope for the best."

Lee was upset, "Amanda deserves better than that! Can't you guys do more?" He ran his hand through his hair.

Billy was placating, "Lee, they are doing their best—that's all we can ask. Your getting upset won't help your partner. Just stay calm and do your best to help her through this."

Lee was still agitated, "Yeah, I will, but she has to get better. I need my partner at her best—we take care of each other and watch each other's backs out there. So she's just gotta recover fully."

Billy tried calming Lee down again, "Scarecrow, calm down. These doctors are doing their best to help Mrs. King. You need to let them do their jobs."

Lee was calming down a bit, "Yeah, fine Billy. But you know I just don't trust doctors…"

Dr. Pfaff cut in, "Yes, Scarecrow, your opinions on the medical profession are well documented. But this time we are helping your partner—you are, too. Your presence helps keep her calm and if she is calm she can recover more quickly. You need to remain calm for her—focus on helping her—you can take it out on us after she is well. OK?"

Lee was calmer but not mollified, "Yeah doc, I know what you're doing here. I've dealt with you shrinks more than I want." He paused and took a cleansing breath. "But I'll do it for Amanda." He started to pace as he spoke, "She doesn't deserve this—she's not even an agent. Damn it, they thought she was me—that should have been me—I could have dealt with it better than she could. Hell, I've been trained—she hasn't got the skills…"

Billy interrupted, "She did remarkably well for an untrained civilian. Hell, she did better than many agents would have. So just lay off and concentrate on Amanda getting well. Can you do that?"

Lee pointed accusingly at Billy, "You don't have to remind me what's important here. I just want to make sure everyone is on the same page."

Dr. Kelford spoke up, "Yes, we all want to see Mrs. King fully recovered. We'll just go now and leave you to it, OK?"

Dr. Kelford ushered Dr. Pfaff and Billy out of the suite.

Once the door to the suite had closed the three moved a short way down the hall. Billy stopped the doctors. "Tell me straight. Will she recover?"

Dr. Kelford replied, "We don't know. It's that experimental hallucinogenic drug. We're still analyzing it. And then there is the fact it was one of two different drugs administered within a 24 hour period. The first drug was pretty straightforward, but in combination with the hallucinogenic… We just don't know. So far she's doing remarkably well. After examining her, and hearing what Stetson had to say—hopefully the two episodes of shock were the worst of the physical effects. Physically, she can only improve. Psychologically…"

Dr. Pfaff took up the conversation, "Yes, that's the unknown here. The wide range of effects she exhibited while under the drug's influence—well, that's unusual—even for hallucinogenics. You are aware how LSD can cause flashbacks years later—but most people have no adverse effects. And then in worst cases, the personality can fragment and the subject never recovers fully. Now this is not LSD, but we just don't know about this one. All we can do it watch and wait."

Billy asked about his other agent involved this, "What about Lee, is he doing OK? Can he do this?"

Dr. Pfaff replied, "Scarecrow is a man of action. Giving him an active part in helping his partner is the best thing we can do for him."

Billy asked the question he didn't want to, "What can we expect from him if she doesn't recover?"

Pfaff answered, "She will probably live, so we don't have to worry about that aspect of it. But if she suffers permanent psychological damage—it could be worse for him than if she had died. We're all aware of how badly he dealt with the death of his former partner, what, four years ago?"

Billy replied, "Four years this fall."

Pfaff continued, "But if she survives and suffers permanent damage—he may never get closure. His survivor's guilt will keep eating at him. I'd recommend he be pulled from field work in that case. And seeing how he's highly resistant to medical help—well, it doesn't look good. Add to that the emotional ties between those two…"

Billy looked Pfaff squarely in the eye, "I know. But it's Amanda King who has gotten Scarecrow to where he is today. I've encouraged the partnership from the start—and I still do."

Pfaff was supportive, "They both have benefited—we can all see that. All we can do now is watch and wait and hope it ends well."

Billy finished up, "Keep me informed. I have the rest of a unit to watch over—but I need my top team back in the field."

In the suite, Lee tried the door to the hallway once it had closed—it was locked from the outside. 'Probably best that way', he thought.

He positioned a chair so he could see into Amanda's bedroom and watch her as she slept. He read a book.

About 7pm, a nurse came into the suite pushing a cart with dinner for them. Lee went in and gently woke Amanda.

"Hi, how are you feeling?"

Amanda looked groggily around, "Lee are you here? What is this place? Where are we?"

He smiled, that sounded more like his Amanda. "They've brought some dinner, are you hungry?"

"Dinner, oh, something smells good—I'm hungry!"

Lee indicated the dresser with clothes for her. "Why don't you get dressed, then come in and we'll eat." He closed the door to give her privacy to change.

In a few minutes Amanda emerged in sweats and a t-shirt with slippers. They sat down to dinner at the table. There was grilled chicken breast, salad, soup, mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.

Lee was at the refrigerator, "What do you want to drink, Amanda?"

"Oh, coffee would be nice," she replied.

"We don't have coffee—I have milk, juice or ice water."

"No coffee?" she looked at him. He shook his head. She continued, "OK, milk, I guess, no wait, is there wine?"

He shook his head again, "No wine, either. Milk it is."

They ate. Amanda seemed hungry—she finished most of her dinner.

"Boy, I'm thirsty," she said as she finished the last of her milk. "Can I have more milk?"

Lee poured her some more milk, "Sure, Amanda." He planned to have water available beside her bed also.

Lee cleared the dishes onto the bottom of the cart. "Do you want dessert? It's strawberry shortcake."

"Oh great! I love strawberries!"

They finished their dessert, and Lee took the cart with the remains of their dinner to the suite door, it opened, and he passed the cart to the nurse there. He returned to the suite.

"Do you want to watch a movie, Amanda?"

"What do we have to watch?" She moved to the shelf with the movies and looked them over. "Let's see, oh look! The Sound of Music. I love that movie! Will you watch it with me, Lee?"

He took the tape and loaded it into the VCR, turned on the TV and took the remote. "Of course I will."

The sat on the couch, and Amanda moved closer to Lee. He put his arm around her shoulders, and she snuggled into him. She looked up at him, "This is nice."

"Yes, it is." He smiled at her. Maybe things would get better.

She smiled back at him. It was the first time he had seen her smile since they woke up that morning, what seemed weeks ago. 'Yes, things are looking up.'

They settled in and watched the movie.

10:52pm Saturday Day 3

After the movie, Amanda was tired, so she changed into a nightgown in her bathroom while Lee waited, sitting on the edge of her bed. Once she emerged, she climbed into bed.

Lee asked her, "Do you want a bedtime snack? I could get you some milk and cookies."

She smiled, "Thank you, that would be nice."

Lee brought a glass of milk and a plate of sugar cookies. She drank the milk and they shared the cookies.

"These are nice, Lee."

"Yours are better, Amanda."

She smiled at him, "Thank you, Lee, that's very sweet."

Once the snack was consumed, Lee took the plate and glass back and returned to sit on the edge of Amanda's bed. "I'll sit here next to you until you fall asleep, OK?"

"Thank you. Those strange people are gone now?" She looked questioningly at him.

"I'm here with you, I'll keep you safe. You go to sleep. I'll leave the door open. If you need me just call out, and I'll hear you. I'll come."

"Stay with me, Lee. I'm still a little scared, this is a strange place."

"I'll stay until you fall asleep. I'll just be out there. You call out, and I'll hear you. OK?"

She looked a bit disappointed, "Oh, OK."

He tucked her in and kissed her forehead. "Sleep well, Amanda. Rest and get well for me, please?"

"OK, good night, Lee."

"Good night, Amanda." He turned out the light and sat on the edge of the bed.

In a few minutes she was asleep. Lee sat and watched his partner sleep for a while. 'At least she is eating well. And drinking lots of fluids. That's got to help.' He got up and filled a small pitcher with water and placed it and a cup on the table next to Amanda's bed. He looked at her sleeping so peacefully, and then went out into the main room to read on the couch.

1:42am Sunday Late Day 3

"Help! Stay away from me!"

Lee bolted up from the couch where he had fallen asleep. His book landed on the floor with a thump. Amanda screamed again, and he rushed into her bedroom. He saw she was asleep, but fighting someone in her dreams.

"Amanda, wake up!" She did not respond to his voice. He cautiously took one of her hands.

She grabbed his hand and pulled it to her. "Run, we've gotta run and get away!"

He sat on the edge of her bed and tried again, "Amanda, wake up, you're dreaming."

"The Nazis are coming—we've gotta run and hide!" She started to get out of bed, still holding his hand and trying to pull him after her. She climbed over Lee.

"Hey, Amanda!" He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. "Wake up, it's just a dream!"

"Lee, is that you?" Amanda opened her eyes and looked at him in the dim light.

"Yeah, I'm here. You were having a nightmare." He tried to hold her still on his lap.

"Oh Lee, we have to get out of here. The Nazis are coming for us and they'll kill us if they find us." She was still trying to get away, but he held her closely, gently but firmly.

"I hear you, Amanda, but we're safe here. They can't find us here." He turned her head toward him and looked into her eyes.

She stilled and looked back at him. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Just relax, you'll be OK."

"OK." She yawned. "I'm sleepy."

"Why don't you get back into bed?" He slowly relaxed his hold on her.

"I'm scared," she said in a small voice. "I don't want to be alone."

"I'll sit right here."

She looked at him with big, soft eyes. "Before, you held me while I slept. It was nice. I felt safe," she said in that same small voice.

Lee remembered the surveillance, "Ahh, that might not be such a good idea here."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She moved off his lap and climbed back under the covers. "I don't want to make you unhappy. If you don't want to be here…"

"Amanda," He took her hand and held it between his. "I do want to be here. There's nowhere else I would rather be. Really." He tried to sound reassuring and comforting.

"Oh." She looked sad. "But then why…" Big tears started running down her cheeks.

Lee gathered her in his arms again and rocked her gently. "OK, I'll stay with you. Let me get into my sweats and I'll be back in a minute, OK?"

She sniffed, and Lee pulled a tissue from the box by her bed and handed it to her. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. He looked into her eyes. She looked so lost and forlorn.

"I'll go get changed, now, is that OK? I'll be right back."

"…OK…you promise to come back? You won't let the Nazis catch you?"

"Yes, I promise." Lee moved her to sit on the edge of the bed and gave her hand a squeeze. "I'll be right back, I promise."

He went to his bedroom and changed into sweats and a t-shirt. He pulled on his robe, took a pillow from his bed and walked back to Amanda's bedroom. She was still in the same position that he had left her in, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I'm back."

She started as he spoke. "Oh good, you did come back. I was worried. I thought I heard the Nazis out there."

"Amanda, you didn't have to worry, I'm here and I won't leave you alone. Not until you're better."

She sniffed again. Lee wiped the tears from her face.

"You ready to sleep yet?" he asked her gently.

"You'll stay with me?" she sounded unsure of him.

He replied warmly, "Yes, I'll stay with you."

She gave him a shy smile, climbed under the covers and moved over in the bed to make room for him. Lee removed his robe, put his pillow down on the bed, pulled back the covers and climbed in next to Amanda.

'At least this is a double bed,' he thought. "You ready to go back to sleep now?" he asked her.

"Yeah."

They settled in comfortably, side by side. She took his hand, "I feel safe with you here with me."

He kissed her hand. "Goodnight, Amanda. Sleep well."

"Goodnight, Lee. You too." She sat up abruptly. "Did you hear that?"

"There's nothing out there. The Nazis have gone. It's just us here, nobody else. We're safe. Really." He sat up and gently drew her back down into the bed. "Just close your eyes and sleep, Amanda. I'm right here beside you."

She spoke in that small voice, "Will you hold me? I'm still scared."

He drew her into his arms and she snuggled against him. She was shaking. "Hey, relax. I'm here. You're safe." He ran his hand up and down her back to calm her.

"Lee, what's wrong? I'm so scared."

He spoke reassuringly, "You've had a hard time. You're getting better—really you are. It will just take a bit longer before you're back to normal. I'll stay with you until you are OK. You need to sleep now. Rest will help you heal." She slowly quieted, and her shaking stopped.

"Lee, was it real?" she whispered.

"What?" he continued rubbing her back gently.

"Those two men—the needles and drugs—they thought I was you—they hurt me—I felt so awful—the mean man kept asking me to tell him all of Scarecrow's secrets—I don't know all your secrets—I don't want to know all your secrets—well maybe some of them, but not all of them… I knew I couldn't tell them anything about you or the Agency—I told them my secret ingredients for my poppy seed cake. That's when the mean man got mad and he hit me. The doctor stopped him. Lee, they were gonna kill me after it was all over. What if you hadn't found me?"

"Hey, it's OK. I did find you. 'What if' isn't something a good agent dwells on. Just what happened—how it went down. Just the facts."

"You have to keep your feelings separate. That's what you've always told me."

"Amanda, your feelings are what make you an effective agent. And your instincts."

"Harry said you'd follow me 'blind through a blizzard at midnight.'"

"Yes, I would." He kissed the top of her head.

She sighed, "You're so sweet. I know I'm safe with you here."

"Yes, you're safe. Go to sleep, you need to rest. Please?"

"Just stay with me. If you hold me I know I'll be safe."

They settled in and drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

7:27am Sunday Day 4

Amanda awoke quickly—with a start she sat up and looked around.

Lee felt her move and was awake and alert, but he didn't move. "Amanda, you awake?"

"Lee?" She looked around and then focused on him in the bed next to her. "Lee!?!?! What the sam hill?!?!..."

She jumped out of the bed and looked for her robe. She found Lee's robe and put it on—it was way too big for her.

"Lee, what's going on here? Where the heck are we? What are you doing in bed—um—ahh—what's going on?"

He spoke soothingly, "Amanda, calm down. Just relax." He sat up and revealed he was wearing a t-shirt and sweat pants. "Ahh, you have my robe there," he gestured to her.

"What? Oh. Here." She handed him his robe and found her robe and put it on.

"Thanks," he got out of bed and put his robe on. "Amanda—how do you feel? Are you hungry?"

"Lee, you're changing the subject—what's going on here? Where are we—what is this place—why are you … here …?"

Lee sighed. "Amanda, you've had a bad experience. Do you remember being kidnapped? By the Romanians?"

"Kidnapped? Which time? Boy, that's a heck of a thing to say—which time? Most people never get kidnapped in their entire lives and I'm asking about which time." She was speaking in her usual fast ramble.

Lee smiled, 'At least that's never going to change,' he thought. "It's Sunday," he said. "Last Thursday we were supposed to meet TP in the park, do you remember that?"

"TP? Yes, I remember TP—in the park by the cannon—but he wasn't there—some strange men were there—and they hurt me… Oh. I'm remembering now."

"OK, they drugged you and interrogated you and hurt you, but you're out of there. It's over. You're here and you're safe."

Amanda looked slowly around the room. "Where is here, Lee?"

"This is a hospital facility. You need to recover from the effects of the drugs they gave you. That's why we're staying here for a few days. So—do you want some breakfast?"

She thought a moment, then asked, "Were you hurt, too?"

"No Amanda, I'm fine."

She thought for a moment more, "So why are you here?"

He took her hand, "I'm here to help you get better."

"Oh."

Lee moved to the door, "I'll just go shower and get dressed—your bathroom is over there," he indicated the bathroom door. "Your clothes are in the drawers. Call me if you need anything, OK?"

"OK. Where are your clothes and stuff?"

"It's all over in the other bedroom—across the way. I'll leave you alone to get showered and dressed."

Lee showered and dressed in record time. He used the phone and called for some breakfast for Amanda. He noticed Amanda's bedroom door was shut—he put his ear to the door and heard the shower running.

He sat on the couch and read, waiting for Amanda. After a while she came out of her bedroom, dressed in sweats again.

She looked around, "Lee, are you here?"

He got up and moved toward her, "Yes Amanda, I'm here."

Just then the door to the hallway opened and a nurse wheeled in a cart with their breakfast on it.

Amanda started and moved as far away from the nurse as possible, ending up in the far corner of the room. "Who are you—what do you want—leave me alone!" she sounded panicky.

Lee stepped forward and took the cart and ushered the nurse out of the suite. Amanda ended up huddled in the corner farthest from the door, her knees drawn up against her chest and her arms around her knees. She was shaking.

Lee spoke soothingly, "Amanda, she's gone. It's just us. You're safe."

Amanda's voice was shaky, "Who was that strange woman?"

"She's a nurse. But she's gone now. Do you want some breakfast?" He laid the food out on the table. "There's eggs, toast, juice, fruit, milk, all sorts of good things. Come and eat."

Amanda slowly stood, but stayed in the corner. "She's trying to poison me," she accused.

"Nobody's trying to poison you. Here—I'll taste everything if that will make you feel better."

"You never eat breakfast—just coffee."

He was determined, "I'll taste this food if it will get you to eat. How about it?"

He walked over to her standing in the corner and held out his hand to her. She slowly placed her hand in his, then he slowly led her to the table. "C'mon, have a seat and have some breakfast. It sure smells good." He smiled reassuringly.

"You taste the eggs first," she said in a suspicious tone.

Lee took a fork and ate a mouthful of eggs. Amanda watched him closely. After a few minutes, she took the fork from his hand and started eating hungrily.

Lee served her juice, toast and milk. He wished vainly for coffee, but Amanda couldn't have any so he took a small glass of juice for himself.

Amanda looked over the food, "Where is the coffee?"

Lee replied, "We don't have any coffee today. How about some melon?"

"You're gonna be grouchy if you don't get your coffee, Lee."

"I'll be fine." She shot him a look. He tried to look nonchalant, "Really."

She looked dubiously at him.

Once Amanda finished breakfast, Lee piled the dishes on the cart and moved to the door. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Pfaff entered. He pushed the cart out into the hallway and came into the suite. Amanda spotted him, and retreated back to the far corner.

Dr. Pfaff was cheerful, "Hello, Amanda, Lee. I thought I'd drop by and have a chat if that's OK."

Amanda's voice was panicky, "Lee, make him go away. He's a doctor—he's gonna hurt me like that other doctor."

Dr. Pfaff was concerned and spoke soothingly, "What other doctor? Amanda, can you tell me about it?"

Lee moved over to Amanda—she grabbed his hand and pulled him to stand between her and Dr. Pfaff. "Lee, make him go away," she pleaded.

"Doc, I think maybe you should go." Lee tried to be conciliatory.

Dr. Pfaff persisted, "Amanda, please—let me help you—can you tell me about the other doctor? Did he hurt you?"

"Leeeeeee…" she wailed. She was shaking and Lee pulled her into his arms.

He stroked her hair, "Shhh, it's OK. He's going now, aren't you doc?"

Lee gave Dr. Pfaff a pointed look. Dr. Pfaff shrugged and nodded.

Dr. Pfaff spoke clearly, "I'm going now—I'll leave you two alone."

He walked to the door and it opened for him. He left with a look at Lee. Lee shrugged and held Amanda close.

Amanda was still trembling. Lee ran his hand up and down her back—he stroked her hair—he murmured words of encouragement.

After a few minutes she stopped trembling and relaxed in Lee's arms.

"You feeling better?" he asked her. She nodded against his chest.

He tried a diversion, "How about we play some cards?"

She mumbled against him, "Cards? Like what?"

"We could play gin rummy," he suggested.

She looked up at him, "Yeah, gin would be fun."

"Let's sit on the couch, and I'll get the cards and a scorepad."

They spent the morning playing cards and chatting.

12:15pm Sunday Day 4

The phone rang and Lee answered it.

It was Dr. Pfaff. "Lee, your lunch is ready, but after this morning I think you should come out and bring it in."

"OK," he answered, "I'll go now." He turned to Amanda, "I'm going to get our lunch now, OK?"

"Yeah," she answered. "That sounds good. I'm hungry."

Lee walked to the door and it opened as he got there. He stepped out into the hall and the cart was waiting for him, with Dr. Pfaff.

"I'd like to try talking to Amanda again, later this afternoon."

Lee wasn't pleased, "Well, I think you should wait until tomorrow. She's still pretty paranoid—give her another day."

Pfaff nodded, as if he expected that answer. "Try to get her to exercise, it might help."

"I'll see what I can do, doc. Just stay out until tomorrow, OK?"

Dr. Pfaff smiled, "Fine, whatever you say."

Once Lee had taken the cart into the suite, Dr. Pfaff moved to the nurse's station.

He pulled a phone over and called Billy Melrose.

"Melrose here."

"Hi Billy, it's Dr. Pfaff. I have an update on Mrs. King."

"Go ahead."

"She didn't have a quiet night. They had dinner, then watched The Sound of Music, then he put her to bed with milk and cookies. Very cozy."

"Go on, Pfaff," Billy said dryly.

"At 1:42am Amanda awoke with a nightmare. She was hallucinating about the Nazis coming to get them. Her and Scarecrow."

"What did Lee do?"

"He was asleep on the couch. He awoke and went in to calm her. It took a while, but he did get her calm enough to sleep."

"That's good, right?" Billy sounded optimistic.

Dr. Pfaff was guarded, "Yes and no. First, she is still reacting to the drug—taking the situation from the movie and transposing it to her current surroundings shows this drug is very powerful. Almost 42 hours after administration and she is still hallucinating. That's not good for a long-term prognosis."

"Anything else?"

"She would not go to sleep without Stetson in bed with her. She has indeed fixated on him as being safe, but I'm worried it will go too far. We need her to be able to operate on her own—if she's totally tied to Stetson, she won't be effective and neither will he."

"Give her time," Billy reassured the doctor, "It's only been two days, things could get better."

"Oh undoubtedly they will, but I'm concerned about the emotional ties between those two. They're close—much closer then I had suspected before."

Billy was wary, "Are you telling me they are intimate?"

"I don't think so—there's still a level of physical modesty on her part—and his—that counter-indicates it. But it may just be a matter of time…"

Billy was firm, "We'll deal with that when—if—it comes. We need her over the drug first. You were the one that recommended he stay with her through this. Should we separate them now?"

Dr. Pfaff was decisive, "No, that could be damaging—to her certainly and probably to him as well."

"I see," Billy said. "Anything else?"

"Yes, she is still very paranoid. She reacted negatively to the nurse who brought in her breakfast and to me afterward. It probably will subside. I wanted to try talking to her again this afternoon after lunch, but Stetson convinced me to wait until tomorrow."

"Stetson made that call?" Billy was incredulous.

"I let him. He's so close to her in this—and if he's upset, she's upset. This is a tough one for both of them. They will both need help dealing with this and distancing from it—and each other."

Billy was angry, "What are you insinuating, Pfaff?"

"We need them to be partners, but not necessarily lovers. This situation may forge deeper emotional bonds between them than we want."

Billy cut him off. "Pfaff, did you ever consider that these emotional bonds were there before all this happened? Think about it—he went through a hell of a lot to get to her and keep her alive—and is seems it was her concern for Scarecrow and faith in his ability to rescue her that allowed her to resist the first drug."

"Are you saying that she used Scarecrow as her mantra?" Dr. Pfaff was surprised at this revelation.

"From what Lee said, and after listening to the tapes, yes, it seems so. They were damn close before this—I knew about it. And they are my best team. I don't want you screwing around in their heads if that will make them less effective."

"But Melrose, we need our agents to have their objectivity—emotional attachment blurs that objectivity."

"Before Mrs. King came along you said Scarecrow was too detached and dangerous to himself and possibly others. Now he's not detached enough. You can't have it both ways. Personally, I like him better now—he's more careful, more thoughtful and a better agent for it."

"Be that as it may…"

"No," Billy cut him off, "this is my call. Until Amanda King is fully recovered we'll let the two of them work it out in their own way. Talk to her certainly, and help her deal with the drug and the kidnapping, but leave her relationship with Stetson alone. Hands off on that—you got me?"

"OK, I get you. I trust I may express my concerns to you, if I have any."

"Of course. I'll listen—but I won't guarantee I'll act on them. Melrose out."

Back in the suite, Lee and Amanda ate lunch and played cards for another hour. Then Lee suggested they exercise for a while. "We have this nice bicycle and treadmill—whatcha' say?"

She thought about it, "OK, but I don't know how long I'll last."

"Just go as long as you feel like."

Lee changed into sweats, and made sure they drank a generous amount of water before they started to exercise. Amanda took the stationary bicycle, and Lee jogged on the treadmill.

He noticed she didn't go too fast—just slowly but steadily. She cycled for nearly an hour, then stopped.

"I'm tired. Is it OK if I stop?"

Lee shut the treadmill down. "Whatever you want. Let's get something to drink."

"Yeah, I'm really thirsty. Can I have some soda?"

"We have water, juice or milk—which do you want?" Lee was at the refrigerator.

"Juice, I guess." They drank.

"Amanda, I'm going to go shower and change."

"That's a good idea, me too."

They met back in the main room of the suite. Amanda looked over the games and reading material. She chose a couple of magazines and sat in one of the easy chairs. Lee picked up his book and sat on the couch.

6:22pm Sunday Day 4

The phone rang, and Lee answered again. It was Dr. Pfaff.

"Dinner is ready, why don't you come out and get it? I want to talk to you a bit."

"OK, I'll be there." He hung up the phone. "Amanda, I'm going out to get our dinner. I may be a couple minutes, but I'll be back. Is that OK with you?"

"Hmmm? Sure Lee." Amanda didn't look up from her magazine.

Out in the hallway Lee saw Dr. Pfaff and Dr. Kelford.

Dr. Pfaff spoke, "Lee, tonight stay away from anything that might upset her. No movies with frightening content."

Lee felt like he was being treated like an idiot, "I figured that out, already doc. I thought we'd try some of those documentaries. There's one on the building of Rome and other ancient cities."

Dr. Kelford was mollifying, "That should be good. There's popcorn for the microwave, and candy if you want it."

Lee looked at Dr. Pfaff, "What, no ice cream?" he asked innocently.

Dr. Pfaff sounded enthusiastic, "Good idea. I'll see what I can do."

Lee shook his head, "Anything else?"

Dr. Pfaff was persistent, "Try to prepare her to see me tomorrow—I do want to talk to her—try to get her to process what happened."

Dr. Kelford spoke next, "And we do need to examine her and draw blood to check the drug levels in her system."

Lee grumbled, "Yeah, I know, I know. OK, I'll do what I can."

He took the cart and went back into the suite.

"Here's dinner, Amanda."

He looked over and saw that she was asleep in the easy chair. She looked so peaceful. 'God, she has to get through this OK. I need her back with me. I don't think I could go back to working solo all the time. Its nice having a partner I can trust. Someone I can talk to.'

She stirred. "Mmmm, I smell food. Is that our dinner?" She stretched.

Lee laid the food out on the table and they ate, chatting about small things during dinner.

Once dinner was cleared and the cart returned, Amanda went to the shelf and started looking through the available tapes.

Lee tried to grab the documentaries, but she playfully batted his hand out of the way.

"Hey, watch it!" he exclaimed in mock pain.

"Lee, look! Here's My Fair Lady—oh I love Audrey Hepburn in that!"

Lee tried for a diversion. "Amanda, don't you want to watch these interesting documentaries about the building of Rome?"

"Not really. I want to have music and pretty dresses and Rex Harrison."

Lee frantically tried to remember if he had ever seen the movie, and what it was about. 'Oh yeah, musical version of Pygmalion—Shaw. No Nazis, no gunfights, no doctors or needles. How bad could it be for her?' He asked her, "Are you sure you really want to see that one?"

Amanda had already loaded the tape into the VCR, turned on the TV and had settled on the couch with the remote. Lee shook his head, 'Oh well, I tried. Maybe I can talk about having the doctors in tomorrow sometime during the evening.' He settled in next to her on the couch, his arm across her shoulders, and they watched the movie together.

At the intermission, he suggested they stop the tape and take a break, make some popcorn and get more drinks.

While they prepared their snack, Lee tried to talk to her about the next day.

"Amanda, you're doing better—I'm so glad."

"Me too. When can I go home? I miss the boys and mother must be frantic."

Lee was pleased, it was the first time she had mentioned her family since they got to the hospital. "They think you are out of town on an open-ended shoot. They aren't worried at all."

"Did Mr. Melrose arrange that?"

"Yes, everything at home is taken care of. You don't need to worry about that. Look about tomorrow…"

"What's going on tomorrow?"

"Dr. Pfaff and Dr. Kelford want to check you out tomorrow." She looked unhappy. He reassured her, "I can be there—you don't have to be alone with them." Lee didn't think they would approve but he was improvising and if they wanted his help, he'd try to get on his terms, and that meant he wanted Amanda as comfortable with the situation as he could get it. And that meant he would stay with Amanda if she wanted it.

"Oh." Amanda looked down. "Ummm…will they want to…uh…examine…me?"

"Yeah, but I can be there if you want." Lee quickly reassured her. She shifted uncomfortably. Then the penny dropped for Lee. "Oh, don't think…" He tried to dig himself out of the hole he had gotten himself into. "They will just probably check your eyes and reflexes and draw a little blood. You won't have to get undressed or anything…" He was assuming an awful lot—but he didn't want to have her feel intimidated about it—or him.

She looked relieved, "Oh well, if that's all it is…Wait, you said draw blood? With a needle?" She started backing up. "I don't like the sound of that—they're gonna hurt me—needles are bad, Lee."

"OK, OK, no needles. Not if you don't want it. But can they come in and talk to you? Check you out? Ask you a few questions?"

She had stopped backing away, but looked dubious. "I don't know…"

"Can you think about it? They only want to help you get better. You will have to see them sooner or later. Please? Can you try?"

She looked at him incredulously. "Lee, you hate doctors. You complain and get all angry, you won't go on your own. You sound like me trying to get you to go see a doctor."

Lee chuckled, "Well it worked on me more than once if I remember—so I thought I'd return the favor."

She hit him playfully on the arm, "Real funny Stetson. Let's go back to the movie."

"Please just think about it, OK? For me?" He smiled at her and did his best to look cute and harmless.

She put her hands on her hips and adopted her 'mom' face. "We'll talk about it later. Right now, I want to see the rest of the movie. If you keep bugging me like that I'll just say 'No'."

Lee smiled and shook his head. She was starting to sound more like his Amanda. He held out his hand, "Let's go finish the movie."

When the movie was over, the phone rang and Lee answered. It was Dr. Pfaff again.

"We have your ice cream."

"OK, I'll be out to get it." He turned to her, "We have a treat waiting for us. I'll go get it."

"Sounds fun!"

This time the cart had several kinds of ice cream with toppings and whipped cream.

Amanda looked it over and was somewhat overwhelmed, "Oh my! We can't eat all of that!"

"I think we can just have what we want. They're giving us a lot of choice here."

She investigated further, "Lee, look! Bananas! We can make a banana split. You wanna share a banana split?"

Lee grinned, "Sure, why not? You wanna do it traditional or get creative?"

Amanda looked at the selection, "Lee, there's no chocolate. You can't make a traditional banana split without chocolate!"

"So we'll be creative. You get started. What flavors of ice cream do you want?"

They settled on French Vanilla flanked by Strawberry Ripple and Blueberry Cheesecake, with strawberry, caramel and pineapple toppings and a generous amount of whipped cream on top. Lee finished it off with half a dozen cherries crowning the creation.

"Why so many cherries, Lee?" Amanda asked.

"I like 'em, and I want to make sure we each get some, OK?"

They each got a long-handled spoon and sat side-by-side eating the gooey concoction. When it was finished, they sat back.

Amanda was animated, "We're never gonna get to sleep with all that sugar in our systems. I'd never let the boys have that much sugar right before bedtime."

"It's one of the perks of being an adult. You get to do things like that now and again."

"But you always pay for it in the end." Amanda sounded responsible.

"Not always, Amanda. Sometimes its fun to be bad—and you do get away with it once in a while."

"You should know, Scarecrow, you're an expert at 'getting away with it'."

Lee smiled and shook his head. "Let's clean this up and I'll get the cart back. Then we can read a bit before we go to bed."

"Sounds good, I'll help."

They read for a while, then they changed for bed in their respective rooms. Lee came over in his sweats and robe, and tucked Amanda in, kissing her on the forehead. She was OK with him going to sleep across the way, but they agreed to keep the bedroom doors open in case Amanda had another nightmare. By 11:30 both were peacefully asleep in their own beds.

1:13am Monday Late Day 4

"No, you can't make me leave! I won't go! You can't make me!"

Lee was out of bed, had his robe on and was halfway to Amanda's room before his mind registered he was awake. He turned on the light in her bedroom and sat on the edge of her bed. She was thrashing in her bed and fighting the bedclothes she had gotten tangled in. He tried grasping her shoulder, but she fought him off.

"Amanda, wake up! You're having another nightmare. Wake up!"

Her eyes opened and she looked at him. "You're so mean to me! You never give me any credit. I'm an equal partner here—you don't give me credit—it's not fair!"

Lee was baffled, "What are you talking about? I'm lost here."

"Oh sure, you're lost! You have no idea what it's like to be 'Scarecrow's pet' and treated like someone who is remedial and will never get any credit or appreciation. You're just like him. He was so mean and when she did so well at the Embassy ball and he never even said anything nice to her at all. You're so…mean and unappreciative!" She stared at him accusingly.

"Amanda, what's that about Scarecrow's pet?" This was something new to Lee.

"Oh sure, pretend you don't know all about it."

"I don't know about it—please tell me."

She stopped and looked at him. Really looked into his eyes as if she was trying to read something there. He tried to communicate his concern and his regard for her.

He spoke more softly, "Please Amanda—help me here. I want to know what's going on. Has someone called you Scarecrow's pet?"

"Not directly—it's just stuff I've … well ... overheard. Not that I've been eavesdropping or anything, that would be rude. But people sure do talk, and occasionally I hear things when people don't know I'm around." She was still pulling at the sheets and blankets, trying to get untangled.

Lee reached over to still her hands. "Amanda, why don't you relax? We'll get you untangled and then you can explain all this to me."

"You're avoiding the issue again." She glared at him.

"No, I just think that you'd be more comfortable untangled and sitting up. I'm not avoiding anything. I promise I'll talk it out with you."

She stilled and allowed Lee to help her get untangled from the sheets. He handed her her robe and they moved into the main room. They sat at opposite ends of the couch, facing each other.

He started, "OK Amanda, what's this about Scarecrow's pet?"

"People call me that behind my back. They're nice to my face, but they don't really think I belong at the Agency. They think you keep me around for amusement. They don't think we're really partners."

Lee was concerned, "Who said this, Amanda?"

"Francine and Fred Fielder and then David Benson made a few remarks and then there was…"

Lee cut her off, "Benson? Nightlight? That was over two years ago and he was a mole!" He was steamed.

"Well yeah…" She looked a bit intimidated by his anger.

He made an effort to calm down. He took a calming breath. "Amanda, has anyone said you were Scarecrow's pet recently?" he was careful to speak quietly.

She thought about it, "Well, no. Not recently. Not for over a year. Not since Scotland Yard wrote that nice commendation about catching the Mongoose." She changed back to being accusatory. "But you don't give me any credit, you can be so mean and grouchy and then you hit me…"

Lee cringed. That last was all too true, and he deeply regretted it. He spoke softly and sincerely, "I know I hit you and believe me I am so sorry for that—there's really no excuse—Amanda, I would never hurt you—I don't want to hurt you, ever—I'm so sorry for that." He hung his head.

"Oh Lee." He felt her hand on his shoulder. "I know you were just playing your cover, and I do forgive you. I did at the time. It's just sometimes so frustrating… But I don't think I should leave the Agency. Really."

He looked up at her, "Who said you should leave?"

"Well, I did quit to work for Byron Jordan—but he was murdered and then I got rehired with a nice raise—so that was OK—well, not for poor Byron…"

"I was glad you came back. I missed my partner while you were gone."

"I wasn't gone for that long, Lee. Just a few days."

"It seemed longer to me. I guess I'm just used to having you around."

"Accustomed to my face?"

He grinned and shook his head. "Something like that. But Amanda, who said you should leave the Agency?"

"Francine is always mean to me—I try to just let it roll off my back but sometimes it just gets to me." She sounded frustrated.

"Did Francine say you should leave?"

She paused to think, "Not for a long time. But I still haven't gotten the training I have asked for..."

"You went through Station One—twice. And you have had Leatherneck show you some things."

"Yeah, but I still don't know how to hit." She slumped down with her arms crossed over her chest.

Lee shook his head, "You do pretty well with lamps and your purse and a baseball bat."

"Leeee-------"

"Look, you've been through a lot since I handed you that package. You might not have all the training, but you've got smarts and incredible instincts."

"Blind through a blizzard at midnight."

Lee nodded, "Harry trusts you, Billy trusts you—hell, Billy's been on your side from the start."

"Longer than you have, for sure!"

"A—man—da!" Lee paused to think. "Well, that's fair, I'll give you that. It took a while for me to … get used to you."

She grinned, "You kept trying to get rid of me and weasel out of working with me."

He nodded, "Yes I did—but that was a long time ago. You're my partner now."

"Except when you work solo." She sounded disgruntled.

"That's not always my call, Amanda. And you've done things solo—courier assignments…"

"Little stuff."

"Your "little stuff" led to breaking up a major counterfeiting ring and uncovered a traitor in the Agency."

"Lee, do you really think I'm your partner? You aren't just saying that?"

"Amanda, you've saved my butt so many times—and I don't know anyone I trust more than you—and in this business you can't afford to trust too many people. And you're a good friend—you're my best friend." He reached over, took her hands in his, and looked her in the eye. "You. Are. My. Partner."

She smiled at him. "Thank you—that means a lot to me. I haven't exactly had a normal career with the Agency—but I really appreciate your support—and Mr. Melrose, too. I guess those other people were just jealous."

"Yeah, jealous of your instincts, and your courage, and your smarts. You are one amazing woman, Amanda King. I'm lucky to have you as my partner."

"Thank you, Lee. I'm lucky to have you to be partners with."

They smiled at each other. Then Amanda yawned.

"You think you want to try to sleep some more?" he asked gently.

"Maybe we could have some warm milk."

"What about hot chocolate with marshmallows?"

"I don't think we should have any more sugar after all that ice cream."

"OK, warm milk it is. I'll heat it up for you."

Lee filled a mug with milk and heated it in the microwave. He tested it to make sure it was the right temperature, then brought it over to Amanda.

"Thank you, Lee."

"My pleasure."

She sipped the milk and seemed to be thinking.

"Lee, what's happening to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sometimes I feel, well … normal … but then sometimes things get all weird and jumbled in my head. Like that nightmare—now I know it was just remembering what it was like when I first started at the Agency—but it seemed so real…so… recent. Like it happened yesterday. Then when we were talking and you asked me about it then I remembered it was a couple years ago—but I didn't remember that at first—what's going on with me, Lee?"

He sighed. "It's the drugs they gave you. One was an experimental hallucinogenic."

"Hallucinogenic? Like LSD?"

"Well, not exactly, but it can mess up your head while it's in your system."

She thought a moment. "Is this all normal? What usually happens with that drug?"

Lee hesitated—but it was best to be straight. She trusted him to help her and lying wouldn't help. "We don't know. You are the first person the Agency has come into contact with who has been given this drug."

"Is that why the doctors want to examine me?"

"Partly, yes. They want to see how the drug runs its course. And they also want to help you deal with all of this—the kidnapping, being drugged and interrogated, and the rest."

"What rest?" she finished the milk.

"Um, well, they hit you—hurt you—tied you up—that stuff."

"Oh. Does that count as torture?" She looked pale, wide-eyed and frightened.

Only Lee's training prevented him from reacting strongly to her question. 'She was tortured—but I can't tell her that—she's an innocent—this shit shouldn't be happening to her.'

He reached over and took the mug from her hands. He set it carefully on the coffee table, and pulled her into his arms. "Amanda, you were hurt—we just want to make sure you are OK—but also that you work through it all and can be an effective agent afterward. You really need to talk to Dr. Pfaff. He can help you with this. Better than I can."

She looked up at him, surprised. "Lee, you hate the shrinks. Are you actually admitting they can help?"

"Well…" he looked uncomfortable, "In this case … for you … yes. It's that damned experimental drug."

"Will I get better?"

"You have to get better. I need my partner back in the field with me." He stroked her hair. "We're all here to make sure you get better."

She snuggled into him, rested her head on his shoulder, and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you, Lee. That means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me."

"You mean a lot to me too, Amanda. You're my partner and best friend." 'And so much more… Better not go there, Stetson, you're under surveillance. Nice excuse, coward.'

"Lee, I'm scared," her voice was small and quiet.

"What are you afraid of?" he continued stroking her hair.

"I don't know—I'm just scared—it's like something's out there waiting for me—I don't know what it is—but there's something big … something nasty…"

He pulled her more tightly into his embrace. "Amanda, the paranoia is an effect of the drug. It will pass as you flush the drug out of your system. Just keep forcing fluids—and a little more exercise might also help—but only time will really do it. Another day or two and you should be feeling better. You are lots better than when you got here."

"Really? You aren't just saying that?"

"Really. If you can let the doctors check you out tomorrow—talk to you—maybe draw a blood sample—that will be a big step forward."

She took a deep breath. "Well, I can try. They just want to help me, right?"

"Absolutely."

"OK, I'll try." They were silent for a few minutes. Amanda resting against Lee, and Lee stroking her hair.

"Lee, will you just hold me for a while? I'd like that. I feel safer when you're with me."

He kissed her head, "Of course I will."

They settled in comfortably on the couch, Amanda resting her head on his chest, his arms around her.


	5. Chapter 5

8:16am Monday Day 5

Lee awoke to sunshine hitting him in the face. Amanda was still asleep in his arms. 'I could get used to this. Waking up every morning with Amanda in my arms.' He checked her temperature, forehead, color, pulse, breathing. She was fine, just asleep.

He checked his watch 8:16am. 'Wow, we sure slept. Of course we were up for quite a while after her nightmare. I think whatever we watch she'll turn into a nightmare until this drug clears her system.'

He dozed for a while until Amanda stirred. He stayed still and quiet.

"Mmmm, Lee?"

"I'm here, Amanda."

"Why are we on the couch?"

"We fell asleep, I guess. How're you feeling?"

She got up and stretched. "I'm a bit stiff."

Lee stretched also, "Me too. I guess we're a bit old for sleeping on the couch like this."

She smiled at him, "Oh, I don't know. It was pretty comfy for me." She placed her hand on his cheek, "Thank you for rescuing me, Lee. Thank you for taking care of me. I don't remember it all really well, but I do remember you were there for me once the bad men left. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Amanda. But we're partners and partners watch out for each other." They looked at each other for a few moments. Then mindful of the surveillance, Lee changed the subject. "Let's shower and change and I'll call for breakfast, OK?"

"Sure, Lee."

Amanda ate breakfast and Lee had juice instead of the coffee he wanted. But it was worth it if he got Amanda back to her normal self.

Lee restocked the refrigerator and cupboards with supplies on the cart that had arrived with their breakfast. Once they were finished, Lee put the dirty dishes on the cart and wheeled it to the door. Dr. Pfaff motioned Lee to come out into the hallway. Lee called back to her, "Amanda, I'll be back in a minute, OK?"

"OK, Lee."

Out in the hallway, Dr. Pfaff greeted Lee, "Good morning, Lee. Amanda seems more calm this morning."

"Yeah, she didn't freak when we woke up on the couch."

"We want to come in and examine her—nothing extensive—eyes, reflexes, draw blood. And I'd like to try to talk to her."

"I know, I know. Let me talk to her and if it seems OK, I'll call you."

"All right, we'll be waiting for your call."

Lee went back into the suite. Amanda was playing solitaire at the table. She looked up as he came near.

"So Lee, what's the plan for today?"

'No time like the present.' He took a deep breath and forged ahead. "You remember last night we talked about you getting checked out by the doctors?"

"Yeah," she looked a bit apprehensive.

"You up for a couple of visitors?"

"You mean the doctors?"

"Yeah. They'll check you out—nothing big—and Dr. Pfaff wants to talk to you. You up for that?"

She seemed to withdraw into herself. "Well, I guess they can check me out—and maybe I can talk to Dr. Pfaff—but no needles Lee—you gotta promise me, no needles." She had become agitated.

Lee sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I'll be here with you. I'll make sure they won't hurt you."

"No needles—please!" she was more agitated now.

"OK, OK, no needles." She calmed down almost immediately. He continued, "Do you want to get it over with now, or do you want to wait a bit?"

"Let's get it over now. You'll stay with me, right?"

"Oh yeah, I'll be with you all the way. I'll just call them now."

He went into his bedroom and called out. Dr. Pfaff answered.

Lee was succinct, "She said it's OK but no needles."

"We heard. Maybe I can talk her into it after a while."

"Good luck. Just promise me you won't bring any needles in—let her agree first."

"I understand she's apprehensive. We'll keep the needles out for the time being. We'll be in in a few minutes." Pfaff hung up.

Lee went back to the main room of the suite. Amanda had resumed her game of solitaire.

"They'll be here in a few minutes," he informed her.

"OK."

A few minutes later, the door opened and Dr. Pfaff and Dr. Kelford stepped into the suite. Lee moved to stand beside Amanda. She looked up and spotted the doctors.

Dr. Kelford smiled at Amanda. "Hello, Amanda, Lee. We thought we'd come by and check you out a bit—if that's OK with you?"

Amanda looked at Lee who nodded. She replied, "I guess so. Just—no needles, OK?"

"No needles, Amanda, I promise." Dr. Kelford replied.

"OK."

Dr. Kelford indicated Amanda's bedroom, "If it's OK with you, I'd like to examine you over here."

Amanda shot a quick look at Lee—he stepped forward, "Maybe we should just all stay in here."

Dr. Kelford was matter-of-fact, "Whatever you feel comfortable with is fine with me."

She opened her bag and took out her instruments. She checked Amanda's pulse and blood pressure. She used her stethoscope and listened to her heart and breathing. She checked her throat, eyes and ears. Then she checked reflexes and nerve responses. She wrote each result down on a clipboard.

Next, she looked closely at Amanda's face. The swelling around her eye had gone down and the bruises were healing. "That's healing nicely. Can you lift your shirt so I can see your side?"

Amanda lifted her shirt a few inches to reveal her right side—the bruising there was also healing well. Dr. Kelford poked and prodded a bit. Amanda seemed tense but not fearful.

"No internal damage, but we figured that out earlier." She said almost to herself.

"Is that it?" Amanda asked.

Dr. Kelford produced a plastic cup. "Can you give me a sample for analysis? Just leave it in the pass-through drawer in your bathroom."

Amanda blushed, "Uh—OK, I guess." She took the cup and went into her bedroom, closing the door after her.

Dr. Kelford was cheerful, "It's not a blood sample, but it's better than nothing and it's non-invasive."

"Yeah," agreed Lee.

Amanda returned, "OK, I left it in there. Now are we done?"

"With the exam, yes," replied Dr. Pfaff. "But I'd like to talk to you if you're up to it."

"I'll just be going then, goodbye, Amanda and thank you." Dr. Kelford left.

Dr. Pfaff sat at the table across from Amanda. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Um, yeah." She looked at Lee who sat next to her and nodded encouragingly.

She took a breath. "I got to the park and went to the bench by the cannon. I didn't see Lee or TP. I sat on the bench and a man came up to me and asked me the time. I told him and another man sat down next to me and grabbed my arm. I tried to pull away and the first man grabbed my other arm and I felt a sting—like a bee sting—and then I felt dizzy and sick. The one man said 'That was easy.' And the other man said 'You're sure this is Scarecrow?' and the first man said 'Of course I'm sure—nobody else came near this place and this is where the meet was scheduled. It's not the old man, so it has to be Scarecrow.'"

"They took me to their car and pushed me into the back seat. One man drove and the other man got in the back seat with me. He tied my hands, and blindfolded me. Then he put a cloth over my face and I don't remember anything else."

Dr. Pfaff was encouraging, "That's good—you're remembering a lot of detail. That's very helpful. What do you remember next?"

"Um, it's fuzzy—I remember being tied up in a chair. I was thirsty—I hurt—my head was pounding—the doctor—well the man who gave me the shots—I thought of him as the doctor—the other man called him doc…"

"Yes, I understand," Pfaff prompted her.

"He checked my eyes and my pulse. He said I was ready. It was afternoon because they had finished their lunch. The mean man was throwing trash away. I wasn't hungry—my stomach felt sick."

She got quiet and stared at her hands folded in front of her on the table.

Lee spoke gently, "Amanda, what do you remember next?"

She spoke quietly, "The doctor pulled up my sleeve and gave me a shot. It hurt. I could feel something burning in my arm. Then I got dizzy again."

She was quiet.

"Tell us what happened then," Lee asked.

"It's really hazy. The mean man asked me over and over 'Tell me all of Scarecrow's secrets,' over and over. I kept telling him I didn't know Scarecrow's secrets. I asked them to let me go, to let me go home to mother and the boys. The doctor checked me out a couple of times. The mean man just asked questions and yelled a lot … I was tired and my head hurt. His yelling made my head hurt more. My hip and side really hurt where he kicked me."

"When did he kick you?" Lee asked sharply. Dr. Pfaff winced at Lee's tone.

"Um—when I got out of the car. I had loosened the ropes on my hands. I got away and ran down the road—they chased me and they caught me. The mean man hit me and threw me to the ground and kicked me in the side a couple times. It really hurt. Then the doctor put that cloth on my face again."

She was crying now. "I want to stop talking about this, please."

Dr. Pfaff was gentle but firm, "If you talk about it—it can be painful at first but it will help you get better."

"Leeee please! I want to stop now!" she looked at him with tearful eyes.

He sighed and handed her a tissue. "Whadda you say doc? Maybe we can take a break and try again after lunch."

"Is that what you want, Amanda?" Dr. Pfaff asked.

"Please, I want to stop now. Please just leave us alone." She leaned into Lee.

"OK, Amanda—I'll go for now and maybe we can try again after lunch."

"Just please go now," she said in a small voice.

Dr. Pfaff got up and left.

Out in the hallway, Dr. Pfaff used the phone at the nurses' station to call Billy Melrose.

"Melrose here."

"Billy, I just left Mrs. King and Scarecrow."

"How's it going, Pfaff?"

"She still won't allow a blood sample—no needles. We got a urine sample—but that's not enough. We need to get a blood sample to see how the drug breaks down within her system."

"Anything else?"

"She did talk a bit—her memory of the actual kidnapping is quite good—apparently she was chloroformed—twice—and that may also be contributing to her disorientation. She's doing pretty well, but we really need that blood sample. We got one when she was admitted, and we need one today to compare."

"What do you suggest?"

"I need Scarecrow's cooperation. He's shielding her—and if we can get him to press her to allow the blood sample—she may agree. I need you to back me on this."

"OK, I do. You can tell him that."

"No, I need you here, in person. He's shielding her and it will take both of us to convince him."

Billy chuckled, "You mean he trusts me and he doesn't trust you."

"That's it." Dr. Pfaff conceded.

"Can I try to debrief her?"

"You can review the tape from my interview—it's a good start. But if you want to try more—I don't see why not."

"OK, I'll also review the transcripts of the tapes Scarecrow brought in and his debriefing. When is their lunch going to be ready?"

"They had a late breakfast, so we thought about 1."

"That's good. I can do what I need to here and be by at 1. We can talk to Scarecrow then."

"OK, see you at 1." Pfaff hung up.

Back in the suite, Amanda wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "Can we play cards again, Lee?" She asked softly.

"Sure—let's sit on the couch."

They spent the rest of the morning playing cards. Amanda was more subdued than before.

1:02pm Monday Day 5

The phone rang and Lee answered it.

It was Dr. Pfaff again, "Lee, we have your lunch—can you come out and get it? I want to talk to you."

"OK, I'll be out." He turned to Amanda, "I'm going to go out and get our lunch. It might take a few minutes."

"Sure Lee."

Out in the hallway, Dr. Pfaff and Billy were waiting.

Dr. Pfaff spoke, "Lee, we want to try again after lunch to talk to Amanda."

"Yeah, I know."

Billy stepped forward, "This time we need to push her a bit. We need you to encourage her to keep going."

"Billy—she's still shaky."

"Lee," Dr. Pfaff stepped in. "We need to talk to her—debrief her and also assess her true mental state."

"What happened to letting the drug flush out of her system?"

"It may be mostly gone. Of course without a blood sample we can't be sure. Maybe we can try to start with a blood sample."

Lee ran his hand through his hair, "You guys don't want much, do you?"

Billy put his hand on Lee's arm, "Scarecrow, we want your partner back in the field with you. But we need to talk to her—debrief her and get that blood sample. The doctors can't treat her properly if they don't know how she's really doing with that drug in her system. Only a blood sample will show that. We need your help with this."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He paced back and forth. "OK, I'll help you—but if she freaks again…"

"Hopefully it won't come to that," Billy said.

Pfaff spoke up, "We could try a mild sedative."

Lee's head shot up, "What the hell?!? You said no other drugs."

"That's our second choice—but we really need that blood sample." Dr. Pfaff was insistent.

"Couldn't you hypnotize her?"

"With the drug the results aren't predictable," Dr. Pfaff was apologetic.

"Fine, just fine." Lee paced some more. Then he stopped and took a calming breath. "OK, I'll try it your way. Let us eat and relax a bit afterward. Then I'll call you in. OK?"

Billy nodded, "We'll be waiting out here."

Lee wheeled the cart into the isolation suite. Amanda was playing solitaire again.

"Lee, you took forever. Is anything wrong?"

"No—I was talking to Dr. Pfaff and Billy."

"Oh. What's for lunch?"

They ate and Lee sent the cart out. Amanda chose a book and read for a bit. Lee pretended to read also—but waited for 30 minutes to pass.

"Amanda."

"Hmmm?" she did not look up from her book.

"Amanda, Dr. Pfaff and Billy want to come in and talk to you. You up for that?"

"Oh." She looked up from her book, "Do they have to come in here?"

"You need to talk to them. The quicker you get it over with—the quicker we can get back to relaxing."

She put down the book. "OK, let's do it then."

"Amanda, there's one more thing."

She looked wary, "What's that?"

"Look, you were given that experimental drug plus another drug plus chloroform—twice. That's a lot in a short time."

"Yeah, you said that's why things get fuzzy sometimes."

"That's right. But for the doctors to be able to help you, they really need a blood sample to track the drugs in your system."

"But that's a needle, Lee!" she backed up.

"Amanda," He stepped toward her and she retreated to the corner. He stopped, and spoke slowly and deliberately. "I know you were hurt—but we all want you to get better. We care about you—I care about you—I want the doctors to do their best for you. They can't give you anything else until they know how the drug is doing in your system. And for that they need a blood sample—with a needle. I'll be there—I'll hold you—you don't have to watch—but it has to be done."

She whimpered and wrapped her arms around herself. "Please Lee …." She whispered.

"Hey, I won't let them hurt you. It's not a big deal. They're not pumping anything into you—no drugs pumped in—they're just taking out a little blood. It's not the same at all."

"Oh." She dropped her arms and looked thoughtful. "Nothing in—just blood out." She sounded like she was explaining it to herself.

"Uh huh." He slowly moved toward her—she seemed to be thinking about what he said—he cautiously put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and he smiled at her—he opened his arms—and she stepped into his embrace. He pulled her close. 'At least she still trusts me.' He was relieved.

"You've kept me safe so far—so OK. I'll do it. Just so they only take blood out—no shots or drugs."

"Absolutely—that's just what's gonna go down. Blood sample only. I promise."

They stood there for a few minutes. Then Lee stepped back and drew Amanda back to the couch. "Why don't you sit here and I'll go get Billy and the doctors, OK?"

"OK Lee." She looked up at him beseechingly, "You'll stay with me, right?"

"Absolutely."

Lee went out into the hall. Billy, Dr. Pfaff and Dr. Kelford were there.

"Good job, Scarecrow," Billy said. "We'll let Dr. Kelford get the blood sample first—then Dr. Pfaff and I will be in afterward."

"That's probably best. Not too many people at once."

Dr. Kelford motioned toward the door, "Let's go."

Lee and Dr. Kelford entered the suite.

"Hello, Amanda, "Dr. Kelford greeted her. "I hear you're doing better."

"Hello doctor, yes a bit." She looked uncomfortable, but resolved.

"Do you want to sit on the couch?"

"I want Lee to hold me."

Lee sat on the couch. "Why don't you sit on my lap here?" She climbed on his lap and turned her head into his shoulder. She held her arm out.

"OK, I'm ready—just please get it over with."

Lee held her close. "Just relax, Amanda—I'll make sure it's just a blood sample."

She nodded against his shoulder.

Dr. Kelford rolled up Amanda's sleeve and tied off her arm, raised a vein and quickly scrubbed it with alcohol. "OK. Amanda, I'm going to take some blood—that's all."

"Hurry, please." Her voice was shaky.

Dr. Kelford inserted the needle with the attached rubber tubing. She drew several vials of blood, and quickly removed the needle while placing cotton on the wound. "Just hold that, please." She indicated to Lee—who pressed the cotton into Amanda's arm. The doctor took the vials and needles and packed them away, then placed a bandage over the cotton. "All finished. Well done, Amanda! Thank you, this will help a lot."

Amanda was trembling. Lee said, "Give us a couple of minutes, doc. Let Billy know it might be a bit."

"OK, will do. Get well, Amanda." Dr. Kelford left the suite.

"It's all over, Amanda. She just took blood—that's all. You're OK, you're safe."

She was shaking and crying. "I know it's OK, but I'm still so scared, Lee."

"You're getting better. Really you are. You were really great letting Dr. Kelford take that blood sample. That took guts. Just—just relax. I'm here, you're safe."

Lee held her and slowly her trembling subsided. She moved off his lap to sit next to him on the couch. She sighed and looked up. "Do you have a tissue?"

He got the box of tissues and handed one to her. "Sure, here."

While she wiped her eyes and blew her nose, Lee got her a glass of juice. "Here, have a drink. It'll help."

"Thanks, Lee." She drank the juice and sat back on the couch with her eyes closed. "Boy, I'm pooped."

Just then the door to the hallway opened and Billy and Dr. Pfaff came into the suite.

Billy was cheerful, "Hello, Lee, Amanda."

"Hi guys," Lee said warily, "I thought you were going to wait…"

Dr. Pfaff spoke up, "We're here to talk to Amanda. You'll talk to us now?" The last was addressed to Amanda—still on the couch with her eyes closed.

"Gosh, I'm kinda tired Dr. Pfaff. Can't it wait until later?"

"You did agree to talk to us after lunch, Amanda," Billy said authoritatively.

"Yes sir, I did," she said resignedly. "OK, let's get it over with."

Billy pulled a chair from the dining area to the couch and sat across from Amanda. Dr. Pfaff followed suit. Lee moved to sit next to Amanda, but Billy waved him away. "Scarecrow, why don't you sit over there." He indicated one of the easy chairs across the room.

"Sir, I'd feel better if Lee was beside me." Amanda said.

Dr. Pfaff spoke up, "He's just over there—you can see him."

Amanda looked from Dr. Pfaff to Billy to Lee, "But—well—OK."

Lee tried to look encouragingly at her but inwardly he was seething. 'What the hell are these two doing anyway?' He sat on the edge of the easy chair, his feet on the floor his elbows on his knees, leaning toward Amanda. "I'm just over here, OK?"

Billy started "Now Amanda—you told Dr. Pfaff about how you were kidnapped and you got up to the man asking you questions. Do you remember that?"

"Yeah—I remember." She shrank into the couch and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Good. Can you take it from there?" Billy asked. "What did he ask you—what did you say to him?"

"It's all really fuzzy. I don't remember it all. He asked me over and over 'Tell me all of Scarecrow's secrets—you know all of Scarecrow's secrets—tell them to me.' He yelled a lot when I said I didn't know Scarecrow's secrets—he said 'Tell me all your secrets or I will kill you.' I was really scared. I knew I couldn't let him know I wasn't Lee—I knew I had to keep talking so Lee would have time to find me and rescue me." She fell silent.

"What did you do then?" Billy asked.

"I knew I couldn't say anything about Lee or the Agency—but he kept yelling—my head hurt—my side hurt—my stomach was sick—he yelled and yelled and I told him my secret ingredients for my poppy seed cake." She gulped. "He hit me in the face—really hard and yelled a lot after that—he yelled at the doctor and he yelled at me—it was dark by then and I was so tired. The mean man hit me again and the doctor shouted at him to leave me alone—that he would try the new drug in the morning—but to leave me alone and let me sleep it off."

She took a deep breath. "They left me alone for a while after that. Later it was dark and the mean man woke me up—he shook me and said I should just tell him now because the experimental drug would just kill me anyhow. And if I cooperated he wouldn't kill me. And I said I didn't know anything and he slapped me—he said that I was tough but he was tougher. He said 'You can make it easy on yourself—if you cooperate—I might not kill you after all—what do you think of that?' Then he kissed me…" She was crying but she continued.

"I was tied up but I tried to stop him—he grabbed my face and he kissed me—hard—it was awful. Then he—um…" She sobbed.

"I know it's hard, Amanda, but if you talk about it you can eventually get past it." Dr. Pfaff spoke soothingly.

"I know." She gathered her composure and used a tissue. "OK, he touched my—my breast—he asked me if I liked that—I told him to leave me alone—I just wanted to go home to mother and the boys. He touched me again—he said 'I can make sure you like it—you'll feel good—wouldn't you like that better than being tied up? Don't you want me? Just tell me what I want and I'll show you a good time and I'll even let you go afterward.' He—he touched me some more and then kissed me again. It was awful, I tried to get away but I was all tied up—I still hurt—it was awful. When he was done I told him I didn't know anything and I just wanted to go home. He got angry and he slapped me again and said he'd let the doctor give me the experimental drug and I'd just die—he really didn't want me anyhow. Then he left me alone. It was dark and I was so scared. I knew Lee was on his way so I just had to hold out until he got there."

Dr. Pfaff asked, "How did you know Lee was on his way?"

"I just knew." She looked over at Lee and gave him a small smile.

Dr. Pfaff and Billy exchanged a look.

It took all Lee's resolve and training to keep him in the chair and not jump up to comfort Amanda. 'That sick bastard… My poor Amanda… She really had it bad. That should have been me—they wanted me—I've been trained—I could deal with it. She hasn't been trained. Oh God—she has to be able to recover—but she has so much to deal with. I don't deserve her, but I sure need my partner back.'

Billy spoke, "OK, Amanda, what happened after that?"

"Um … then it was almost light outside—I guess I must have slept or something—the men ate some food and then the doctor got a big needle and gave me another shot. It burned inside my veins—I could feel it move up my arm and into my heart—it burned and I felt dizzy and then I felt the burning all over. I thought I'd burn up and die—I was worried I couldn't hold out until Lee got there—and I was so scared." The last was said in a whisper and she began crying again. "So scared." She was shaking and the tears were running down her face. Her eyes were unfocused and staring off into nowhere.

Billy spoke quietly but firmly, "Amanda, please focus—can you tell us what happened after that?"

"So scared—I'm so scared," she whispered. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. "Please just let me go—I want to go home to mother and the boys—I don't know anything—please just let me go."

"Amanda, you're out of there," Dr. Pfaff spoke and placed his hand on her shoulder, "you're-"

She screamed and moved away from the touch. "Leave me alone—don't touch me!"

Lee was up like a shot, "Doc, let her go—just go—please!"

Amanda looked around, "Lee, is that you? Please help me—the mean man hurt me—Lee?"

She focused on Lee and reached out to him. He pushed Dr. Pfaff aside and sat next to her on the couch—she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his chest.

Dr. Pfaff and Billy exchanged shrugs. Billy spoke, "OK, that's all for now. We'll try again later."

Lee was angry, "Make it tomorrow, huh? She's a wreck. Let her rest." Lee glared at them as they left the suite.

Billy and Dr. Pfaff talked in the corridor after exiting the suite.

Dr. Pfaff took the optimistic view, "We did get quite a bit of information before she shut down, Melrose."

Billy was terse. "I hate that kind of debriefing. Mrs. King isn't a trained agent and we're pushing her like she was a seasoned professional and not a civilian auxiliary."

"Actually, in a way, she is a seasoned professional. She's been with Scarecrow for almost three years now. She has more experience than quite a few full-time agents. This is a bad one—but it has little to do with her status—anyone would have a tough time with a powerful hallucinogenic and its one we've never dealt with so we can't help her. She just got unlucky."

"It's just not fair to her."

"She was never promised fair, Melrose. And she did choose this. She's fought hard to keep working with Stetson."

"I had a lot to do with that, also," Billy said glumly.

"Don't you go getting remorse too—Stetson has enough for all of us."

Billy shifted gears, "How's he doing through all of this?"

Pfaff paused to think. "He's taking care of her quite diligently. I'm still concerned about the emotional element for him. He's not used to deep emotional ties—and there are definitely strong deep ties between those two."

Billy scowled and raised his hand.

Dr. Pfaff continued quickly, "I know, I know—hands off for me—but I am making the observation and noting it for further study."

"Do you have any idea if he's going to be able to work effectively with her without being over-protective or compromising the job?"

"He's got some work to do. Actually, helping her is also helping him. Seeing her improve—helping her achieve goals is going to give him confidence that things will get better for her. He's a professional and will get back to the job, and still be effective. She may end up a better agent—knowing she's gotten through this and if she recovers fully—it should help bolster her confidence in her abilities. And Scarecrow's confidence in his partner should increase also. He may realize she is neither as fragile nor innocent as he seems to see her."

Billy nodded, "She's a lot tougher than any of us give her credit for. I hope we don't get any more unpleasant surprises like that little revelation back there."

"She obviously repressed it."

Billy was surprised, "I thought the drug was mostly out of her system—why did she flash back?"

Dr. Pfaff gave Billy a reproving look, "People flash back for psychological reasons too, Melrose. This wasn't the drug—just a reaction to the revelation of the repressed memories. Now it's out, things should get easier for her."

"Can we expect any more revelations?"

"We seem to have accounted for all the time up to Scarecrow's arrival. We have his account of what happened then and we know he didn't harm her—so I would say that was the end of it." Dr. Pfaff looked eager. "It will be interesting to hear her version of what happened during that day. It will give us a good profile of the drug's effects to get her account of what happened."

Billy shook his head. Sometimes these shrinks scared him with their skewed interests and priorities. "I've got a field unit to run. I'll meet you back here tomorrow at 10. We'll try to finish the debriefing then."

"I'll keep monitoring them here, Anything happens and I'll let you know."

Lee and Amanda sat on the couch for a while as she calmed down and relaxed. She soon stopped crying and just rested against Lee.

"Hey, you feeling better, now?" he asked gently.

She wiped her eyes with a tissue. "I guess so."

"That was a tough one, but you're doing great. You didn't give anything away—you did better than a lot of fully-trained agents would have."

They sat quietly for a few minutes.

Amanda spoke softly, "Lee, does it ever get easier?"

"It depends." She looked questioningly at him, and he replied, "You went through a lot this time. These ones are always tough, the drugs usually mess you up a lot and then it takes time to get back to normal."

"So most of this is because of the drugs?"

"I think so. And you were the guinea pig for that hallucinogenic—so nobody knows what to expect—how you will react or what it takes to recover quickly. I'm sorry Amanda, that should have been me. I can deal with all of that better ... "

"Lee, I'd be really worried if our positions were reversed. And I can't hold you down like you held me those times in the cabin. So you might not even have survived…"

"Hey, let's not play "what if" OK?"

"You started it, Stetson."

"Yeah," he brushed the hair out of her eyes. "You want to play some cards?"

"That sounds good."

They played cards until dinner.

6:25pm Monday Day 5

The phone rang and Lee answered it.

It was Dr. Pfaff, "We have your dinner and a few more movies to choose from."

"OK, I'll be out. Amanda, our dinner is ready."

"OK, Lee. I'll get the table ready."

Out in the hallway, Lee got the cart. On the lower shelf was another dozen VCR tapes.

Dr. Pfaff spoke, "Why don't you put the tapes you've watched or don't want back there. We can get you different books or magazines if you want them."

"I'll ask Amanda. You guys are going to leave us alone this evening, right?"

"Yes, we'll be back tomorrow at 9. We'll do another checkup and blood sample then Billy and I will try to finish debriefing her. If she'll agree, Dr. Kelford wants to do a more thorough examination in private—in her bedroom."

Lee sighed, "I'll run it by her. I think we're going to be OK with another blood sample."

"That was very good, making the distinction between taking blood out and not injecting anything. That seems to have swayed her."

"Hey, I'm just improvising here. But yeah—I guessed she was more worried about having more drugs pumped into her than the needle itself. She never had a problem with needles before."

"Well, being her partner, you know her best so it's good you are here to help."

"Like I've said all along—I'm here for my partner—whatever it takes—I want her back in the field with me."

"Yes, we all want that. Go on, your dinner is getting cold." Dr. Pfaff waved Lee back into the suite.

Lee re-entered the suite. Amanda had placed glasses with milk by their places and also napkins.

"Here's our dinner, and a bunch more movies."

"Oh, more movies? Lemme see!"

He stopped her, "Hey! Let's eat first—then you can go through the new movies."

"OK, Lee. Are we going to have ice cream again? That was fun."

"I'll ask after dinner."

They sat and ate. After dinner they cleared the dishes onto the cart and Amanda took charge of the movies. She put the tapes she didn't want or had watched already onto the cart and then spread their viewing choices out on the shelf.

"They said we could get different books and magazines also, if you want." Lee said, watching her from the table.

"No thanks. I'm OK with what we have here."

"I'll take the cart out and ask about ice cream."

"OK."

In the hallway, Dr. Pfaff was still there, waiting for Lee. "We'll have ice cream ready later for you."

"OK, thanks. How's she doing, doc? What did the blood tests show?"

"The drug is clearing her system nicely. There are still traces—but those may last for at least a week or more."

"I see." Lee thought a moment. "Can we have some coffee with breakfast?"

Dr. Pfaff feigned surprise, "Why Scarecrow—I thought you'd do whatever it takes for your partner?"

"Hey, I'm here for her 24/7—I'm just asking—can we have coffee tomorrow?"

"I'll ask Dr. Kelford—that's her call. Now go watch your movie."

Lee went back into the suite. Amanda was still looking at the movies.

"Lee, do you like dancing?"

"Sure, I like to dance. Do you want to see if they can get us some music?"

She smiled at him, "Oh, that's sweet but I didn't mean we should dance—though it's always nice, dancing with you—I meant do you like to watch dancing?"

"Amanda, you choose what you want to watch. I'll watch it with you."

"OK, Fred and Ginger it is."

They settled on the couch. The credits rolled and Lee was surprised—it was Swing Time. "I don't think I've seen this one, Amanda."

"I like this one better than Top Hat."

"I'm sure it will be good."

Lee put his arm around Amanda, and they watched the movie.

When it was over they stretched and the phone rang. Lee answered.

It was Dr. Pfaff, "We have your ice cream."

"OK. Amanda, we have ice cream again—I'll go get it."

Out in the hallway, the cart was loaded with ice creams and toppings.

Dr. Pfaff spoke to Lee, "Bad news. Dr. Kelford says no coffee until after the blood sample tomorrow."

"Oh well, I tried."

He brought the cart back into the suite.

"Oh my Gosh, Lee. If we have that much ice cream every night I'm gonna need new clothes!"

"You just choose what you want. And you look fine to me, Amanda. You don't need to worry."

"Thank you, Lee."

They each had a small sundae. Lee restocked the small refrigerator with milk and juices and returned the cart when they were finished.

They read for a bit and then they went to bed in their respective rooms. They kept the doors open so Lee could hear Amanda if she had a nightmare.

1:17am Tuesday morning late Day 5

Lee was sleeping badly. He kept waking up and straining to hear if Amanda was having a nightmare. Then he got up and walked across to check on her. She was sleeping peacefully. He went back to his bed and slept.

3:42am Tuesday morning later Day 5

Lee sat up. Did he hear something? There was only silence. He got up and went to Amanda's room to check on her. He saw she was still sleeping, and he sat in the easy chair in her bedroom—just watching her sleep.

'She's sleeping OK. That's good. I guess that means the drug is mostly out of her system. I hope she'll be better tomorrow than she was today. That was really rough. I'm glad I killed that bastard—but after she told me what he did to her—Hell, I'd love to kill him all over again—slowly—with great prejudice. That sick piece of shit…'

'Maybe Pfaff's right—she talked about it and now she's not having nightmares. But it was so tough watching her talk about it. I just wanted to hold her and kiss her tears away… Don't go there. She's been through so much. The kidnapping—drugs—interrogation—being beat up—shock—all of this stuff here—how does she do it? She's been through a hell of a lot—yet here she is sleeping peacefully while I'm here awake, worrying about her.'

'But she's made it this far, she's going to recover, I know it. She surprised me. I would never have guessed she could be drugged, beaten and interrogated and not let anything slip. That goes way beyond just instincts. She keeps telling me she's learned a lot working with me—but how could she learn to resist drugs and interrogation? She is certainly a lot tougher than I've ever given her credit for. She just seems so delicate, so fragile. But I guess her looks are deceiving.'

'Funny, I've never thought of Francine as fragile, and she's roughly the same size as Amanda. But Francine's different—she's an agent. Well—Amanda is too, really. Maybe not official or full-time, but she's my partner.'

'My partner, my best friend, my Amanda…'

'This is getting serious. I haven't dated anyone since Leslie. I work with Amanda every day. I watch her from her backyard a couple nights a week. I dream about her most every night. Stetson, you've got it bad. For your partner.' He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. 'I'm in trouble here. I do … love … Amanda. And I know she cares for me—as a friend—best friends—but as more than friends? We've saved each others' butts so many times—could she love me?'

Lee drifted off to sleep in the easy chair across from Amanda's bed.


	6. Chapter 6

7:15am Tuesday Day 6

"Lee, wake up. Lee!" Amanda was calling softly to him and shaking his foot. Lee started and woke suddenly.

"What? Amanda?"

"Lee, you were sleeping in the easy chair. What's the matter—something wrong with your bed?"

'Yeah, you weren't in it. Uh oh—not again…' Lee stared at her with a bewildered look.

"Lee, you awake?"

He roused himself, "Yeah, just a bit fuzzy. I didn't sleep well."

"Well, I did. I didn't even have a nightmare. Boy, I feel lots better today!"

Lee smiled, "That's great, Amanda. I'll go shower and change and order you some breakfast."

"See you in a bit, Lee."

They met back in the main room of the isolation suite and Lee brought the breakfast cart in. After Amanda had finished and Lee had his glass of juice, he returned the cart.

Dr. Pfaff was waiting in the hallway.

"Good morning, Stetson. She had a quiet night. That's good."

"Yeah. I didn't, but then you know that, too."

"Give it a day or two and you'll get back to normal also."

"Whatever you say, doc," Lee looked at Dr. Pfaff suspiciously.

"We'll start with Dr. Kelford at 9—she wants to do a thorough examination of Amanda in her bedroom. If you have to come in for the blood draw, we'll save that for last."

"I think it'll be OK, but I'll let Amanda know, just in case."

"After that, Billy wants to finish the debriefing. I'm looking forward to hearing Mrs. King's account of what she remembers of her day while under the drug's influence."

"She isn't excited about it, but she'll get through it. Just try to go easy on her, huh? She's been through a lot, here."

"Yes she has. But she's also done remarkably well. She didn't give anything away under the influence of the first drug and she is recovering well. I'm optimistic she will make a full recovery." Dr. Pfaff was pleased.

Lee was surprised, "You really mean that?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. Her progress is nothing short of remarkable."

"Thanks—that means a lot. Hey—could you let her know that? It should help her."

"You tell her for me now, and I'll tell her again when I see her after Dr. Kelford is finished."

Lee reentered the suite. Amanda looked up from reading the book she had started earlier. "So Lee, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Well first, Dr. Kelford will be by to give you a full checkup. She wants to see you in your bedroom this time. Can you be in there with her? Just the two of you?"

"Yeah, that should be OK. Will she want another blood sample?"

"Yes, but if you want we can do that last out here, and I'll be with you. Does that sound OK to you?"

"Well, as long as its just blood out—I'll be OK. But I'd feel better if you were there with me."

"Then I'll be there." He smiled.

"Is that it?"

"No. After the exam, Billy and Dr. Pfaff will be in to finish your debriefing."

"Yeah. I figured that would be next. I'll try, but I really don't remember a lot about that day. More like a bunch of weird dreams."

"Whatever you can give them—they'll just have to take it. Mostly they're interested to find out how much you remember about the drug's effects. I already told them what happened—so your impressions will be compared with mine. It will help to get a profile of this new drug and how it works. Maybe help them devise a strategy for dealing with it if someone else manages to get unlucky and have it used on them."

"Well, I hope nobody else goes through this. It was pretty horrible."

"But you made it through OK—Dr. Pfaff said he thinks you'll make a full recovery."

"Really, he said that?" She looked eager.

"Yes he did. And he'll tell you himself, once he gets here with Billy."

"Oh Lee, I'm so glad. I was worried—I felt so awful these past few days. But today I really feel a lot better."

The door opened and Dr. Kelford entered the suite. "Good morning, Amanda, Lee. How are you feeling this morning?"

Amanda sounded enthusiastic, "Lots better, doctor."

"That's good. Are you ready for your exam?"

"Yeah. Can we do the blood sample last with Lee?"

"Of course. I have a gown here—if you'll change in your room—you can let me know when you are ready and I'll come in."

Amanda took the gown and went into her bedroom to change. Dr. Kelford went in when Amanda was ready and Lee was left alone in the main room of the suite.

He got his book and sat in an easy chair, but he was too tense to read. He ended up pacing for the 70 minutes Amanda and Dr. Kelford were in her bedroom. Then the door opened and Dr. Kelford walked out into the main room.

"She's just changing. We'll draw the blood sample in here again."

Lee waited on the couch until Amanda came out, fully dressed.

Dr Kelford asked her, "Do you want to sit on the couch again?"

"Sure, that's fine." She sat next to Lee and he took her hand and smiled reassuringly.

"Everything OK in there?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. Dr Kelford said I was doing great."

"That's wonderful."

This time Amanda sat next to Lee, and they held hands. She didn't watch, just closed her eyes and leaned into Lee as Dr. Kelford took the vials of blood. It was quickly over.

"There, that's done." Dr. Kelford packed away the equipment and samples. "I'll get these analyzed, but I think you will be cleared for coffee and chocolate. We'll wait another few days for alcohol, though."

"Oh gosh, just having coffee will be wonderful. And Lee will be happy, too. He's been really good about it, but he's grouchy in the morning if he doesn't get his coffee." She smiled at Lee.

"I told you, partner—whatever it takes."

"Well, you made the supreme sacrifice for me." She teased. "And I'm really grateful. It must have been very difficult for you with no coffee in the morning."

"I'd do it all again if it meant you were all better. Partners take care of each other, right?"

"Oh yeah."

Dr. Kelford left the suite.

Out in the hallway, Dr. Kelford met with Billy Melrose and Dr. Pfaff.

"How is she, doc?" Billy asked.

"She's doing remarkably well. She had no problems with the exam, though she preferred to have Stetson with her for the blood draw. But it's a world of difference. I don't know whether it's the drug level down or a good night's sleep or the debriefing yesterday but she seems back to normal."

Dr. Pfaff was pleased. "I concur—I think she'll recover fully."

Billy smiled, "That's great. Now what about Scarecrow?"

Dr. Pfaff replied, "He had a restless night. But it's not uncommon for a person who has been a caretaker to be jumpy for a while after their charge has recovered. He should settle down in a day or two. This is new territory for him—he's not used to being a caretaker and we all know how difficult he can be when he needs medical attention."

"So what do you recommend?" Billy asked.

Dr. Pfaff and Dr. Kelford exchanged looks. Dr. Pfaff spoke, "I'd keep them here another night at least. I also want to try to talk to Stetson—see if I can get him to process what he and his partner went through."

"Yes," Dr. Kelford added, "I'd like to examine Mrs. King tomorrow morning as well and draw more blood. She should take it easy for a couple more days—that bruise is bad—desk work only if she's up to it."

Billy was decisive, "I'll give her the rest of the week off. This was a tough one and she could use the time off."

"If you give her time off, you need to let Scarecrow have that time off as well." Dr. Pfaff added.

"Explain," Billy retorted.

"We're now talking about long-term emotional effects. I think Mrs. King will do just fine. I'll schedule a session or two with her just to make sure. But Stetson—as I said before—he's in uncharted territory—he nearly lost his partner—again—and he was instrumental in caring for her—something he just isn't used to. Add to all that the strong emotional bonds between those two and he is going to have some work to do to process all this. I'll try to talk to him—but I'm not optimistic."

"I could make it an order," Billy replied.

Dr. Pfaff looked rueful, "Getting him in and making him open up are two different things. Certainly, order him to see me—and if you explain Mrs. King will be seeing me also—he should take it better. But I expect he'll take a few days to get back to a normal sleep pattern. And he needs to adjust to not being with his partner 24/7. He will experience some separation anxiety and that needs to be worked through." Dr. Pfaff chuckled, "In the end, I think she'll straighten him out better than any of us can."

Billy smiled and nodded "She does keep him in line. OK—they're both off until Monday. They'll stay here for the night—get checked out in the morning—and we'll let them go home tomorrow if everything is OK. Agreed?"

"Yes." "Of course." Dr. Pfaff and Dr. Kelford agreed.

"Let's go, I want to get this over. Maybe they can have a quiet afternoon if we finish this before lunch." Billy and Dr. Pfaff entered the suite.

A few minutes after Dr. Kelford left, the door opened again and Billy and Dr. Pfaff entered the suite.

"Good morning, Scarecrow, Mrs. King—I hear from Dr. Kelford you are doing much better today." Billy smiled at Amanda.

"Yes sir. I feel rested and pretty good."

"Amanda, "Dr. Pfaff spoke up, "I know Lee told you, but I wanted to tell you myself, from what I have seen and Dr. Kelford has said, I think you will end up recovering fully—no long-term effects from that experimental drug."

Both Lee and Amanda visibly relaxed.

"Thank you, Dr. Pfaff," Amanda said. "Lee did tell me but its sure good hearing it again from you."

Billy spoke up, "Oh by the way, you are both off the roster until Monday."

Lee and Amanda looked surprised but pleased.

"Thank you, sir."

"Yeah, thanks, Billy."

Billy continued, "You both probably need the time off—so I expect you to relax and rest this weekend."

They nodded happily.

"Well Amanda, are you ready to resume the debriefing?" Billy asked.

She looked at Lee, who nodded encouragingly.

"I guess so, but like I told Lee, I don't think I remember much—it's more like a bunch of weird dreams."

"Whatever you can tell us will be helpful. You can sit on the couch—and Scarecrow, why don't you sit in the easy chair." Billy pointed.

Billy and Dr. Pfaff got chairs from the dining area and sat across from Amanda like before, and Lee sat in the easy chair again. He wasn't as apprehensive as the day before, but he was not relaxed either. He was, however, curious to hear Amanda's account of her experience with the experimental drug.

Once they were all settled, Dr. Pfaff spoke, "Amanda, I know this may be difficult for you. You've done really well so far. I understand you may not have clear memories of what happened—but we are interested in whatever you recall—however you recall it. Lee has already been debriefed so we have a fairly accurate account of what happened. We are more interested in your impressions and feelings while under the drug's influence. What you can tell us will help us learn more about this drug and if anyone else is given it we may be able to help them get better."

"OK, I understand. I'll do my best." Amanda looked determined.

"I know you will, Amanda, you always do." Billy smiled encouragingly. "Now Amanda, you said you remember being given the injection by the doctor—can you start from there?"

"Uh, yeah. Right." She sat thinking for a moment. "I was tied up in the chair—it was starting to get light but I don't think the sun was up yet. I really hurt—my face hurt—I had a bad headache—I was really thirsty and my side hurt. I just really ached all over like I had the flu or something."

She continued, "The men ate and they were arguing. The mean man threatened the doctor—he said 'This had better work or there might be two dead bodies at the end of this.' The doctor didn't seem upset—he just said 'I have to monitor her as the drug cycles—and your job is to ask the questions. Maybe you didn't ask the right questions yesterday.'"

"Then the doctor gave me the shot and it hurt so much—like acid in my veins—it burned the inside of my veins. I felt it going up my arm and go into my heart—my heart hurt and then it was burning all over inside my body. It burned and burned. I was scared I would die because of the burning. Then I was so tired—and I couldn't stay awake. That's all I remember about that part of it."

"OK Amanda, what do you remember next?" Billy asked.

"Um—it was like a dream. I was floating on the ceiling—I could look down and see the room—I saw the two men and someone was in a bed. Then the door opened and Lee came in—the mean man shouted and the doctor just ducked out of the way. The mean man tried to shoot Lee but Lee shot him first."

"Do you remember more details about that?" Billy asked.

"Lee shot the mean man twice. The mean man got a shot off but his gun was pointed at the floor so Lee was OK. I was really relieved about that. The mean man fell down and Lee moved to kick the gun out of his hand. The doctor had made it out the door and was running away."

"Lee made sure the mean man's gun was out of the way and he looked for the doctor—then he checked the mean man. I guess he was dead because Lee checked outside. Then Lee came back in and went to the person in the bed and said 'Oh God, Amanda.'"

She started, "Oh! I guess the person in the bed was me! How did I get in the bed?"

Dr. Pfaff gently prompted her, "What happened next?"

"Um—I saw Lee look through the whole cabin. I just stayed on the ceiling, but I saw him go from room to room. He pulled the mean man's body into another room and then shut the door. He saw blood on the floor and put a rug over it. He looked guilty. I wonder why? I was glad he killed the mean man. Then Lee checked out the cabin again. He found a backpack and filled it with medical stuff. Then he found a tape recorder and some tapes. He played a tape but I couldn't hear what was on the tape. It sounded garbled and so I just concentrated on Lee. He looked upset and angry. Then he looked at the person on the bed and his face got sad—then he looked—well—different." She shifted uncomfortably.

Lee wondered if she wasn't holding back—which considering how he felt at the time was for the best. 'She's protecting me—even now. I don't deserve her, but I'm sure glad I've got her.'

Amanda spoke more decisively, "Then he stuffed it all in the backpack. Then I don't remember much more. It's like I fell asleep or something."

She thought for a few more moments, "I remember some strange dream—Lee and I were in a playground—we were laughing and singing—sharing nursery rhymes and poetry and stuff. Then we were dancing. It was really fun and I was awfully glad Lee was there with me. Then I was on a swing and Lee was pushing me—I went higher and higher and then I just launched myself off the swing and flew through the sky. I flew and flew and then I was falling. I got scared because I was falling and I was scared it would hurt when I hit the ground—but then Lee was there and he caught me and I was OK."

"Boy, that sure sounds weird, doesn't it?" She looked uncomfortable to be sharing such trivial recollections.

Dr. Pfaff reassured her, "If that's how you remember it, then that's OK with us, right Billy?"

Billy spoke quickly, "Of course. What do you remember next?"

"Um—I felt really sad. I remembered when daddy died and when Grandpa West died and when Grandma Mabel was sick and then died and when Pinto died and then when Joe finally wanted the divorce." She started to cry. "I need a tissue."

Dr. Pfaff handed her the box of tissues and she wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

She continued. "That was a really bad dream. But I do remember mother was holding me and kept telling me it was OK and that it would be better. So it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I could have been alone."

She looked small and lost as she focused on the unpleasant memories. Then she gathered herself and looked up. "Then I had another flying dream. I flew higher and farther than before. I felt really free—almost like I could fly all the way to heaven. But then I remembered there were people here I had to care for—so then I started falling again. I was really scared this time because I was falling very fast and I knew I'd hit really hard—but Lee was there again and he jumped up and caught me and it was like floating—so soft and slow and I knew he would protect me and I was safe." She smiled at Lee and he smiled back at her.

"Let's see, the next thing—I think I remember Lee bringing me some food—toast and a banana and juice. Boy, that sure tasted good. But I was really tired and I ached all over. I remember Lee and I talked some—I asked him why Mr. Melrose hadn't sent anyone else—why was Lee alone—he seemed surprised at that—but he said it would be OK—we would stay overnight and go back in the morning. I was pretty confused, but I figured Lee knew best and I was safe with him so it was OK. I remember it was dark—I guess the sun had set. I was just so tired. I guess I fell asleep again or something."

"Then I had more bad dreams—but I don't remember much. I do remember a long walk in a dark forest—I was with Lee and we walked and walked for—gosh—it seemed like days. I was so tired but Lee wouldn't let me rest—he kept making me walk and walk. Then he carried me and we were at his car and he put me in the seat and he buckled me in and I was tired but it sure felt good to stop walking."

"Then I was back at the cabin and the bad men were there again and they were yelling at me and sticking me with more needles—I kept calling for Lee but they just yelled at me and stuck more needles into me—it hurt and I was scared and Lee was gone. I tried to escape but they hurt me—I fought hard but they held on to me and tied me up again."

"Then Lee was there and he made the bad men go away and he saved me—I knew I was safe and it would be all right."

"Then I remember waking up and smelling food and Lee was there and he said that they brought some dinner and I should get dressed and come out and eat. It sure smelled good and I was real hungry so I found some clothes in the dresser and I got dressed and we ate dinner."

"Then we watched a movie—The Sound of Music. I love that movie."

She stopped and looked at Billy and Dr. Pfaff.

Dr. Pfaff looked pleased, "That's quite a lot you remember. Can you think back—maybe there's something you missed? Is there anything else you recall between getting that injection and watching the movie?" He looked hopeful.

She thought about it, "There were bad dreams, floating on the ceiling, flying and falling twice, about remembering everyone dying and being so sad, the dark forest and walking and walking."

"Wait—I remember a couple of times—Lee wouldn't let me get out of bed. He pushed me back—did he hold me on his lap? Was that real?" She looked at him—Lee tried to be neutral and not give her a clue—but she seemed to read something in his face. "Oh yeah, I guess it was real. I was scared—very frightened. It was like the bogey man was waiting to pounce on us. I couldn't see anyone else—but I knew it was there. Lee held me and said it would be OK—but it wasn't. I was so scared. I wanted to run away."

She paused, "It's so weird—all this is so unreal—like dreams—but more weird than dreams even. But the feelings sure were strong. Gosh—I don't know what I'd have done if Lee wasn't there with me. And they aren't really fading—y'know like dreams fade if you don't think about them? They still feel like dreams but I can remember all the details. Like flying. That was so nice… The falling part was bad but flying was sure fun."

She smiled at that memory. "Then I remember being cold too, really cold—like I was in a freezer or on ice. It started at my feet and went up. I felt like a giant popsicle at the end. That sure sounds strange—a giant popsicle. I was really trapped in a freezer with Francine once and it did get cold, but then it was cold all over—not from my feet and moving up. That dream hurt—it was so cold and scary. Oh, and I remember a tea party—me and Lee and Lois Ann—she was my doll when I was little—and Debbie Ann Macabie. We had tea and it was in a garden. Tea in a garden. That one is like a picture I can look at. Just a picture of a tea party in a garden. I don't think anything happened, just a picture of a tea party. Wow!" She thought for a while. "OK, I think I'm done remembering. Do you want me to go on after the movie?"

"No, that's all we need for now. How do you feel?" Dr. Pfaff asked.

"Um, tired and I have a headache. I guess that's from trying to remember so much. I'm thirsty, but I've been talking for a while so that's not surprising."

"I'll get you something, Amanda," Lee got up and brought her a glass of juice.

"Thank you, Lee. "She drank the juice.

Dr. Pfaff and Billy exchanged looks. Billy spoke, "I think we're done here, Amanda."

"Thank you, sir."

"But Amanda," Dr. Pfaff spoke up, "if you end up remembering anything else—please let me know."

"Should I expect that?"

"We don't know. I'm just trying to cover all the bases."

"OK, I'll do that," she nodded.

"Oh," Billy spoke up, "you both need to schedule appointments with Dr. Pfaff in the next few days. Just routine, but" he looked straight at Lee "consider it an order."

"Billy," Lee was annoyed, "I wasn't drugged or anything, why do I have to go?"

"Because I'm ordering you to go. Any more questions?" Billy asked in a tone that indicated he expected none.

Lee grumbled, "Fine—I'll go but I really hate the shrinks."

"Yes, Scarecrow—we all know that," Dr. Pfaff sounded amused.

Amanda put her hand on Lee's arm, "Lee we'll both go—so it will be OK."

"Hey, I'm just glad you're going to be OK."

They smiled at each other. Suddenly Billy and Dr. Pfaff felt like they were intruding.

"We'll get going," Billy said. "I have a field unit to run."

"Yes, we'd like you to stay another night, Mrs. King—Dr. Kelford wants to examine you again tomorrow morning. Then I think you can go home." Dr. Pfaff smiled at her.

"What about me?" Lee asked.

Dr. Pfaff and Billy exchanged looks.

"What about you, Scarecrow?" Billy asked.

"Well, do I stay or are you going to leave Amanda here all alone?"

"Oh Lee, I'll be fine. Really."

"Do you want me to stay?" He turned to her.

"Not if you don't want to—I'll be fine."

"I said I was in it for as long as it took—Billy I don't want to leave until Amanda is cleared to go."

Billy pretended to be surprised at Lee's statement. "I thought you hated hospitals. Fine—stay the night. We'll see you both in the morning then."

Billy and Dr. Pfaff left the suite.

Outside in the hallway, once the suite door had closed, Dr. Pfaff turned to Billy. "You would have made a fine psychiatrist in your time, Melrose."

"I feel like that's half of my job—juggling the personalities. But thanks for the compliment—I think." Billy shook his head. "I've gotta go. Keep me informed if anything comes up."

Amanda smiled at Lee, "That's sweet Lee, but really you don't have to stay just to keep me company."

"I want to stay, Amanda. Especially now that you're back to being yourself again—now that the drug is mostly out of your system."

"Well, I'm glad you're staying. Boy, I'm hungry—is it lunch time yet?"

As if on cue, the door opened and a nurse brought the cart in with the lunch—Lee took it and the nurse left.

"Oh boy, something sure smells good. Let's eat!" Amanda sounded excited.

They ate lunch and Lee returned the cart. As he reentered the suite, Amanda was looking at the games on the shelf.

"Hey Lee, why don't we play Monopoly?"

He quickly made his claim, "I want to be the car."

"Figures. I'll take the hat." She grinned at him.

They spent the afternoon playing Monopoly and chatting about office gossip and inconsequential things. Lee felt more relaxed and greatly relieved now that Amanda had gotten a clean bill of health.

'She's going to be OK. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't recovered fully. But she has. Now I've got to decide if I want to be more than just her partner and best friend. Well, I want it. But how involved does she want to be? I need her in my life. If we're just friends—that's OK I guess—but I sure would like more. My Amanda's one in a million—it just took me three years to figure it out. I can be patient, too. I'll take it slow and easy—Amanda's already used to having me around. Now I plan to be around her a lot more. Not just at work but evenings and weekends as well. I need to let her know how special I think she is. Get her to want to be with me—because I sure want to be with her—now and forever. Yeah—that feels good—now and forever. I guess I needed to think about what I'd lose before I could accept it…'

"Lee—you in there? Lee!"

He jumped and realized Amanda had been trying to get his attention for some time now.

"Yeah, I guess I drifted off a bit. Sorry."

"You were a million miles away! You OK, Lee? It's been a tough couple of days for you."

He shook his head, "Only you, Amanda King, after being kidnapped, drugged and interrogated would worry about me having a tough time of it." He smiled and took her hands. "Yeah, I'm OK. Better than OK. I have my partner back, you've recovered fully and we have the whole evening ahead to relax." He checked his watch. "It's almost 6—what do you say we order up some dinner and then watch a movie together?"

"You're just saying that because you're losing so badly." She smiled at him.

"I admit it—if we ever need a killer Monopoly player—you're my first choice." His thumbs rubbed the backs of her hands. He tied to communicate his newly realized feelings for her without alerting the personnel that were monitoring them.

"Thanks—that's sweet Lee." She blushed and ducked her head.

He took her chin and lifted her face so they could look into each others' eyes. "I mean it—I'm really grateful you've recovered fully. I need my partner. I'd be lost without you, Amanda."

Her eyes widened—then she squeezed his hand. "Lee, I couldn't have made it here without you. You've been there for me for the past three years, and I plan to stick around for as long as you'll have me."

"In that case—I think we'll have a long and beautiful partnership." He kissed her fingers. They enjoyed a few minutes of companionable silence. Then Lee spoke, "Let's get that dinner going. Then I get to pick the movie tonight, OK?"

"Sure—I trust you Lee—in everything." She gave his hand a final squeeze and began to clean up the game.

Lee called out and let the hospital personnel know they were ready for their dinner. In 20 minutes there was a knock at the door and it opened—a nurse wheeled the cart in and left them to eat their dinner together.

After dinner was over and the cart was wheeled out—Lee chose his movie. "I saw this when they gave us new movies and I love this one. It's about time we had some good laughs." He put the tape in the VCR and sat on the couch.

"What movie did you pick, Lee?"

"The Court Jester—Danny Kaye—it's a musical but as much a comedy as a musical."

"I don't think I've seen that one."

"Then you're in for a treat."

They settled in on the couch and watched the movie.

Once the movie was over, Amanda was quite animated. "That scene about the chalice and the poison was so funny…" she exclaimed.

"It's a classic, Amanda. Somehow it reminds me of someone else I know." He looked innocently at her.

"Oh you!" She playfully pushed him away.

He grabbed her arm and they wrestled briefly on the couch—they ended up close together—Lee pressing her back into the couch—his body partially over hers—they both froze and their eyes locked.

"Amanda…" he said her name in a low tone.

"Lee…" she whispered his name in reply.

Then Lee remembered where they were and that they were under surveillance. He pointedly glanced upward to communicate that to her. She nodded.

He said, "Let's call out for ice cream."

"Yeah, that sounds good—ice cream." They shifted to sit side-by-side on the couch. She jumped. "Hey, ask for chocolate—Dr. Kelford said I could have chocolate."

"And coffee—boy, will that be good in the morning!"

"I know you missed it more than you let on." She teased.

"I meant it—I'd do it all over again if it means you're OK in the end."

The ice cream was wheeled in and there were several types of ice cream with chocolate and chocolate syrup as well.

Amanda made herself a small sundae with mint chocolate chip ice cream and chocolate syrup. "This is the last night for ice cream—then I have to watch it or I'll be in trouble." She laughed.

They finished their ice cream, wheeled the cart out and read until 11 when Amanda went to bed in her bedroom. Lee tucked her in with a kiss on the forehead, and went across to his bedroom and read for a few minutes before he turned out the light and went to sleep by himself.

2:46am Wednesday late Day 6

Lee was walking through a dark forest—trees were everywhere and the path was getting less and less distinct. He knew what he wanted was ahead—he had to keep going to get it. But the undergrowth was getting thicker: ferns, bushes, tree branches and vines were all over. At first it wasn't too bad, but as he went on it got thicker and more difficult to move through. He wished for a machete and suddenly he had one at his side. He unsheathed it and hacked at the plants—cutting a way for himself through the thick undergrowth—but it was still getting thicker. He looked back and saw that where he had hacked a path through the undergrowth, the plants were already growing to close the gap—and they kept growing—thicker and thicker. Soon he had to keep hacking just to keep a clear space for himself—he was no longer moving forward and he couldn't go back either.

Then he felt it—the vines started creeping along his feet—he jumped—could plants really grow that fast? He kept hacking—but the vines were growing faster now—they had his feet enveloped and were growing up and around his legs, then waist—then his arms were captured in stringy clinging vines. Around and around him they grew—he was being strangled—suffocated—he had to get out—he had to find her—where was she? He needed to save her—no, she needed to save him. He needed his Amanda—he was trapped—he knew everything would be all right once she was with him. Where was she? He tried to call her name but he couldn't make the words come—they stuck in his throat—he tried again to call her name—and again and again—it was getting tough to breathe—the vines were pressing on his chest—he struggled—he tried to cry out—he was helpless—he hated feeling helpless—he was choking—he couldn't breathe—he would lose her—he couldn't get to her—he had failed her—he would never see her again—his life was over …

Lee sat up in bed with a cry—his heart beating hard and breathing quite heavily. He was sweating and panting—disoriented and afraid. Where was he—what had happened—where did those vines come from? He discovered he was twisted in the bedclothes.

Suddenly the light came on.

"Lee?" Amanda was standing in the doorway in a robe and nightgown.

Relief coursed through him. She was there—he hadn't lost her after all. He fought to get free of the entangling sheets, leapt out of bed and pulled her close in his arms. She was there—she was real—he could feel her—he could smell her perfume. She was alive and OK. His life was saved.

"Oh Amanda, you're OK," He breathed into her soft hair.

"Lee, you were yelling—you had a nightmare."

"Yeah," he stroked her hair, "I couldn't breathe. But I'm OK now."

"Your heart is pounding—it must have been some nightmare." She was rubbing his back gently.

"Oh yeah, some nightmare." He was holding her close—stroking her hair, just drinking in her presence, her nearness. 'My Amanda. My love.' Slowly his heart rate slowed—his breathing evened out.

"Lee, are you OK now? Do you want to tell me about your nightmare? It might help." She spoke softly and encouragingly.

Lee was quiet for a few moments—still holding his Amanda—still reveling in the relief of her presence.

"Vines," he said finally. "There were vines—they were strangling me."

"How did that happen?"

He tried to reply and couldn't think of what to say.

She gently pulled back from his embrace and got his robe. She offered it to him, and he put it on. She offered her hand, "Let's sit on the couch, OK?" She smiled and led him to the couch in the main room. They sat facing each other, holding hands.

"Are you sure you want to hear this? It's pretty stupid." He looked hesitant.

"Lee, you had me worried—I called out to you a couple of times—you were still yelling. You helped me when I had my nightmares, it's time I returned the favor."

"Partners," he said simply.

"Yeah, partners. We watch each others backs."

He took a deep breath, "OK, I was in a big forest and following a path trying to find … something." 'Can't give too much away.' he thought. "And the plants were growing to close the path up—and then the vines started growing up and growing around me—I was being strangled by the vines."

"Couldn't you do anything to get free?"

"I had a machete—it helped for a while but the plants grew too quickly—I was trapped and I was afraid I'd lost … what I was trying to find."

"What was that?"

"Something wonderful, something valuable, something precious, something I knew I couldn't live without." He looked deeply into her eyes—part of him wanted to tell her, to let her know how he valued her. And part of him was wary and cautious. In the end, the caution won and he stayed silent.

"Well you're awake now, it was a bad dream. You're OK—no vines here. And maybe now you can get whatever it was you were looking for. Do you know what it was or was it one of those dreams where you don't even know what you were looking for?"

He looked deeply into her eyes. "I know what I was looking for, Amanda. And I'll do my best to make sure I do end up with it." He was feeling better. It was still surprising how good just talking to her could make him feel. "Let's get back to sleep. You still have to see Dr. Kelford in the morning."

"Yeah, and you have to talk to Dr. Pfaff."

"I don't know why he bothers. I get a lot more out of talking to you than I ever did with him."  
She smiled and stroked his face, "I'm glad I can help. Good night."

He kissed her on the forehead, "Thank you, Amanda. Good night."


	7. Chapter 7

8:02am Wednesday Day 7

"Lee, Lee? Lee, you have to wake up now. They'll be here in an hour. Lee!"

He felt Amanda's hand on his face—warm and soft—he took her hand and pulled her close—yes, this is how it should be with his Amanda. He nuzzled her ear…

"Lee! What are you doing?!?"

She wasn't responding to him—she was squirming—this wasn't how it should be…

"Lee, WAKE UP!" He felt a sharp shake—he opened his eyes. Amanda was beside him on the bed fully dressed.

"What?" He was disoriented. "A-man-da!"

"You sure were sleeping hard. I've been trying to wake you for a few minutes. You kept mumbling so I thought you were waking up but I guess you weren't really awake and you grabbed me and that was sure strange and I didn't want to hurt you but I really had to get you to wake up so I shook you and I hope I didn't hurt you or anything…" Her ramble died off.

He realized he still held her hand and had his other arm around her. "Oh, sorry." He let her go and she jumped off his bed like a shot.

"So, are you really awake yet?"

He ran his hand through his hair. Boy, was this one for the 'observers'. He was at a loss as to how he could divert them. "Yeah." He thought furiously how to recover. "I guess I was dreaming…"

"Nice dreams?" She smiled at him and glanced upward and he could have sworn she was offering him a lead—just like they did in the field.

"…Yeah, there was this ambassador's daughter…" He smirked at her and winked as he got out of bed and into his robe.

She gave him a playful hit on the arm. "Oh you… I've already had breakfast. There's coffee for you out there. I made sure there's a lot, to make up for all the mornings you've gone without it."

"Thanks, I'll be out in a bit." He showered and changed quickly, then went straight to the coffee. He had almost forgotten how good it tasted—how it seemed to spread energy and vitality into his veins as he drank it down. "God, that's good," he said as he lowered his half-full cup.

She shook her head. "God forbid you ever develop an allergy to coffee or anything."

"Hey! I can do without it, I've proved that the past week." She gave him a look. He continued gamely, "But its sure better if I do have my morning coffee. A man gets used to certain things in the morning…"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Whatever you say, Scarecrow. I'm going to read until they get here, OK? They brought us a morning paper—the sports section is over there."

"Thanks, Amanda." He read the sports page while he drank a couple more cups of coffee.

8:50am Wednesday Day 7

Dr. Pfaff and Dr. Kelford met in the hallway outside the isolation suite.

"Good morning, doctor," Dr. Pfaff greeted his colleague.

"Good morning. Unless something unusual comes up, I anticipate releasing Mrs. King."

"Yes, I thought you'd say that. Could you do me a favor?"

"What do you want?"

Dr. Pfaff looked conspiratorially at her, "Could you keep Amanda busy for at least an hour—90 minutes preferably?"

"Why?"

"I want to talk to Scarecrow, but he won't stay with me unless his partner is unavailable. So if I could count on you taking at least an hour…"

"I get you." Dr. Kelford shook her head. "The things we go through to get Scarecrow in and cooperating…"

"It's easier now that she will help. I've found if I talk to her first—then give her a chance to talk to him—she can get him in better than anyone."

"Really. She has dragged him into my office once or twice. I was surprised, but it always proved necessary. She seems to know when he really needs help. Maybe I'll just tell her we need to stay 90 minutes so you can get your time in with him."

"Good idea. She should be quite cooperative." He chuckled, "Things have certainly changed with Scarecrow since Mrs. King came along."

"Yes. Hopefully she'll stay around for a long time to come. Shall we go in?"

They entered the isolation suite together.

Dr. Kelford took Amanda into her bedroom for another medical exam. Dr. Pfaff approached Lee.

"Well, Scarecrow—seeing as how your partner is busy, why don't we have a little chat in your bedroom?"

"Aw doc! Like I said yesterday, Amanda is the one who needs the sessions—I was just along for the ride."

"I'll just remind you Mr. Melrose made it an order—and I'll be seeing Mrs. King later in the week."

"Fine—by all means—lets both waste our time with this." Lee went into his bedroom.

Dr. Pfaff followed and closed the door. "So Scarecrow, it's been a hectic few days. How did it all start?"

"I've been debriefed about it already."

"But I haven't read the debriefing—I've been busy here monitoring your partner. Just give me a shortened version."

"Yeah sure. Last Thursday—" Lee looked surprised. "It's been almost a full week already. Somehow it doesn't seem that long…"

"Why is that?"

"I guess I've been so focused on Amanda I haven't thought about much of anything else."

"You've been worried about her?"

"You sure were," Lee accused. Then he ran his hand through his hair. "You weren't there when she went through that drug cycle."

"Tell me about that."

"I've been through the interrogation training—had some of the drugs—developed my mantra and the rest. Amanda's had nothing. Well, she's been questioned by the bad guys a few times—she's been debriefed a lot—she's even seen other people interrogated using drugs. But she's never been through that herself—until now."

"Until now. What happened with her?" Dr. Pfaff prompted.

"She was all over the place. That's what worried me the most. They said the drug cycled one hour up for questioning then one hour down, unresponsive. But no two up times were the same. They tell me that usually a subject will react consistently—I didn't know whether it was Amanda or the drug—or the combination—but she was all over the map. I knew it was hallucinogenic, so I was expecting some wacky responses, but a couple of times I was really worried."

"Was that when she went into shock?"

"Yeah, that too. But a couple of 'sessions' were just … frightening. I was worried she wouldn't recover. I know how some hallucinogenics can mess you up permanently—and she was so … different. Not my Amanda." Lee didn't notice his slip.

"Tell me about those times."

"One time she just cried. It was almost like I wasn't there. I really hate it when she cries and she cried for almost 90 minutes straight. Oh yeah—the cycles were longer than one hour up and one hour down. That made it tougher—expecting one thing and getting something else entirely. But when she cried it was like everything was hopeless and nothing would be good ever again. Nothing I did seemed to help her. She wouldn't eat or drink, either. I felt so helpless …"

"What about the other time…"

"The one after that she was terrified. She talked to me so that was better, but she was so scared—I knew it was the drug—I tried telling her that—she would be scared then calm down—then terrified again. At least she talked to me. But then she went into shock again. I was really worried but I got her warmed up and she was OK. It took a while, though."

"You did well. She survived with no additional physical injuries. So your actions were effective, even though it seemed different at the time."

"I know. I'm just not used to taking care of her like that. I can do first aid and bandage up a wound, splint a broken bone—but treating shock is a bit out of my league."

"You did well—so you should be pleased with your actions there." Dr. Pfaff sounded authoritative.

Lee sighed. "Then she 'came to' but she was just out of it. Her eyes were open. She even ate a little."

"By herself?"

"I had to feed her, but she did eat and drink a bit, and then she just quit responding—it was really weird. It was worse than the crying or terrors because, well, I was worried she'd stay that way. Amanda's so … active … so animated … seeing her so out of it like that was really frightening to me. If she ended up like that permanently … it would have been worse than if she had died." He was silent for a few moments remembering. He spoke as if to himself, "I kept talking to her. I don't know if she heard or it registered but I hoped so. All I could do was hope it helped…"

"Was that all?"

"The last time. There was a seventh drug cycle—more unexpected crap—she thought she was dying. She said she could feel death creeping up her legs—she said she felt cold. I held her—tried to get her to warm up—she felt warm to me—not like when she went into shock—but it didn't seem to help her. She made me promise to take care of her mother and her boys." Lee fell silent.

"Did that bother you?"

"Hell yes! I hated it that she thought she was dying. The drug was torturing her and I couldn't do a damn thing to help."

"So you were resentful that you had to make that promise?"

"What? No! We're partners—partners watch out for each other—it was just so frustrating watching her go through all that and not being able to do anything about it."

"Did she seem comforted by your promise?"

"Yeah. She was so worried about her family—she knows if anything happens to her, I'll make sure they're well looked after. I'll protect them for her—she's my partner, it's the least I can do"

"You did protect her—you found her, you stayed with her through the drug cycles, you cared for her, you got her out the next morning and back to D.C. you got her medical care, you've been here ever since helping her. And now she's recovered fully."

"Yeah. Hey doc, is she really recovered?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"What about flashbacks, spontaneous reoccurrences down the road?" Lee looked worried.

"Of course we can't say for certain, this is a new drug to us. Amanda is the first person we know of to go through its effects. But seeing how well she has recovered, and how quickly the drug passed out of her system, I think this is the end of it. Usually if there will be lasting effects the subject has more trouble recovering from the initial exposure."

"I see. Thanks for the information, doc."

"Are you ready to go back in the field with Mrs. King?"

"Of course—well, Billy gave us both time off until Monday. Amanda needs it and I guess she won't rest unless I'm off too."

"Do you think she will be ready to go back in the field on Monday?"

"It depends on how that bruise on her side heals… I know she doesn't have broken ribs, but that can still be pretty painful and make you stiff."

"Well, once she's healed, do you think she'll be OK in the field?"

"Of course. It's amazing how she bounces back from almost anything." Lee thought for a moment. "I'm still amazed she managed to keep it together and not give them anything. She continually surprises me. I guess I'm lucky to have her as my partner." He grinned.

"That is a change from how you felt about working with her in the beginning."

"Yeah, she reminded me of that, too. But she's changed since then. Hell, I've changed. I'm glad she stuck around."

"So where do you think your partnership is going?"

Lee was instantly wary. "What kind of a question is that?"

"Just a simple question. Where do you think your partnership is going?"

"Amanda and I are partners—and good friends. I anticipate working with her for the foreseeable future."

"Anything more?"

"Exactly what are you getting at, doc?"

"You two seem awfully close. I'm just wondering whether you are more than just partners at work."

Lee gave Dr. Pfaff a measured stare. "No. Amanda King and I are just partners, just friends and nothing more." 'Right now. But hopefully that's going to change real soon,' He thought.

"You had a nightmare last night." Dr. Pfaff changed tactics.

"You've seen the tapes, I'm sure. I don't have anything more to say about it."

"I have a question for you." Dr. Pfaff asked amiably.

"What?" Lee was guarded.

"Do you think that dream could have been a delayed stress reaction to all that happened in the previous week?"

"You're the shrink. You tell me."

"Amanda wasn't the only one who went through a lot. You had to face possibly losing your partner—first to the kidnapping—then to a reaction to a drug—then to possible side-effects from that drug. You care about your partner—how did all that make you feel?"

"Yeah, I care about Amanda—she's my partner and best friend. I really wasn't focusing on me doc, I was worried about her—what would happen to her family if she died or was unable to recover. I've worked solo before, and if I had to I'd do it again. All I thought about was doing whatever it took to help Amanda and get her back to normal. Right now, I'm just glad and grateful that she's OK and it all turned out well."

"I see."

"One thing—I did realize that Amanda's a lot tougher and better at the job than any of us give her credit for. She may be 'just' a civilian auxiliary, but she's the equal of any other agent out there. And better than many, if it comes to that. I'm going to do my best to not underestimate her from now on out."

"That's quite admirable, Scarecrow."

"Are we done yet? Is Amanda finished with Doc Kelford?"

"I have a few more questions for you if you don't mind."

"I do mind. This is a complete waste of time and we both know it."

"Perhaps. But you were ordered to be here so why don't you just go along with it?"

"Fine." Lee sat in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What are you planning to do with your time off?"

"Huh?" Lee was surprised at the unusual question.

"You are off until Monday. That's four days after today. Do you have any plans?"

"I really hadn't thought about it."

"Think about it now. What will you do?"

"I don't know. What's the big deal anyhow?"

"Just curious…"

"You shrinks…"

"What do you plan to do when you get home this afternoon?"

"I'm gonna make sure Amanda gets home safe first. After that—I don't know. Maybe find a game on TV or something."

"Do you have any dates lined up for the weekend?"

"I didn't know I'd be off—what's with the twenty questions? I haven't made any plans for the weekend. Satisfied?" Lee was getting frustrated. He hoped he could take Amanda out to dinner Friday or Saturday—maybe both evenings. Now he had sorted out his feelings about her he wanted to put his plan into action. Get Amanda used to being around him outside work. Get to know her better. Work up to a romantic relationship. But he was damned if he'd let on to Pfaff about any of his ideas. The Agency's official policy was that partners shouldn't be involved emotionally. That's why there were so few male-female agent teams. But it happened, and even turned out well on occasion. Lee suspected Billy wouldn't have a problem with it. Sometimes it seemed Billy was pushing him toward Amanda. But the rest of the Agency powers-that-be were not going to be as benevolent as Billy. Which is why Lee had to tread carefully around Dr. Pfaff. One suspect report from the man could end a career—he had seen it happen. Maybe a little diversion was needed.

"Y'know, doc—that's a good idea. Maybe I'll look through my black books and make a few calls. I've been so busy lately—it would be nice to get back out into the social scene."

"Glad to hear it, Scarecrow. All work and no play makes Lee a dull boy."

Lee smiled—when he really wanted to throttle the man. 'These shrinks can't help but meddle in people's lives. He thinks he can steer me away from Amanda. He'll probably say something about it to her as well—to let her know I'm unavailable. I know Amanda trusts me. I'll explain once we're out of here and no longer under surveillance. But if we do start dating, we'll have to be really careful.'

"That should do it, Scarecrow." Pfaff looked at his watch. "I'll see you Friday at 10?"

"Aw doc, isn't this enough?"

"Orders, Scarecrow. Friday at 10. See you then."

"Yeah, OK."

Dr. Pfaff left.

Lee sat thinking for a few minutes.'It's been a while since I dated anyone—Leslie—boy was that a mistake. Have I really been that busy? I guess I just wasn't that interested in dating anymore. It was all the same anyway—dinner—maybe dancing or music at a club—then home and hop into bed. No conversation, most of my dates couldn't really be called intelligent or interesting. I couldn't talk to them like I can talk to Amanda. We can talk about anything. Stakeouts are a lot less boring since she started coming along. I guess everything is less boring when Amanda is around. Funny how it happened that way. They're right—I remember when I couldn't get rid of her fast enough. Now I want her in my life—my whole life—as much as possible. Maybe even permanently. Of course to Amanda, that means marriage. I'm not sure I'm ready for all that yet. But I know I don't want to lose her—I need her in my life. We'll take it slowly and see what develops. I'm in love with Amanda. I can hardly believe it—and I'm certainly not going to say it—not yet.'

Lee went out into the main area of the suite. Dr. Pfaff had already left. He grabbed his book and read, waiting for Amanda to appear.

10:42am Wednesday Day 7

Finally the door to Amanda's bedroom opened and Amanda and Dr. Kelford came into the main room.

Lee got out of the chair where he had been reading, "Hey, everything OK with you, Amanda?"

"Oh yeah. Dr. Kelford says I can go home after lunch."

"That's great!"

"Amanda," Dr. Kelford spoke to her, "I think you'll be fine, but if anything happens, please call me."

"Thank you doctor, I will." She smiled at Dr. Kelford.

Dr. Kelford left the suite.

"Well, we're here through lunch, how do you want to pass the time?" Lee asked.

"There's not enough time for me to beat you again at Monopoly, so let's just play cards."

"Whatever madame wants." Lee bowed to her.

They played cards until lunch, and ate their last lunch in the isolation suite.

1:10pm Wednesday Day 7

Billy and Dr. Pfaff entered the suite just as Lee and Amanda were finishing their lunch.

"Well Amanda, I'm told you're ready to go home." Billy smiled.

"Thank you, sir. I feel ready. It's sure been a long week. I'm glad it's all over."

"Yes," Dr. Pfaff spoke in an authoritative manner, "You've been through a lot, but you've recovered well. I do want to see you tomorrow and Friday, say 9am both days?"

"Of course, I'll be there." She looked pointedly at Lee.

"And I'll see you Scarecrow, Friday at 10." Dr. Pfaff stated.

Lee grumbled, "Yeah doc. I'll be there."

Billy spoke up, "You're both off the roster until Monday. Other than your appointments with Dr. Pfaff, I don't want to see either of you until then. Get some rest and have a good weekend."

"Thank you, sir." "Yeah, thanks Billy."

"You're both free to go, unless you want to stay here another day…" Billy chided.

"No thanks. Amanda, I'll take you home if you'd like."

Amanda turned to Billy, "What about my car?"

Billy replied, "We had it delivered back at your house last Thursday afternoon. We told your mother you'd been called out of town on an emergency shoot, so an IFF employee brought your car back for her to use while you were gone."

"Oh gosh—thanks. I hadn't thought about that at all. It would have been tough for mother without a car for a whole week." She turned to her partner, "So I guess I'll take you up on that ride, Scarecrow."

"Glad to oblige, ma'am." Lee tipped his imaginary hat to her.

Billy and Dr. Pfaff bid them goodbye and left the suite.

Lee went to his bedroom and packed his clothes. Amanda sat on the bed and watched.

"I feel a little strange, Lee. I've been gone a week, but I have no clothes or anything to take back with me."

"You can keep what you're wearing. The clothes you had when you were brought here were cut off."

"Yeah. I know it's necessary but it's such a waste…"

"Hey, all that matters is that you're better. Your face is almost healed. How's your side doing?"

"Oh it's colorful, but it's healing too."

"Good, I'm glad." He was finished packing. "Let's get you home."

They left the suite. Lee's car had been brought to the hospital entrance.

Lee offered her his mobile phone, "You want to call ahead—let your mother know you'll be home?"

"She won't be there. Wednesday afternoon she plays cards with her club."

"Then the coast is clear. Let's go."

Once in the car Lee was anxious to make a few things clear.

"Amanda—this past week—I'm so sorry you had to go through all that—but I'm really glad I was there for you. I was worried—and being there—well, it's better if I can see firsthand how things are going. They don't always tell me everything."

She nodded, "You don't trust doctors, I know."

"I care about you, Amanda—a lot." She smiled at him. He continued, "You're my partner, and my best friend and, well, maybe…" He fumbled for the words but they wouldn't come so he changed tactics. "Would you like to go out to dinner? To celebrate your full recovery?"

She looked at him for some clue as to the nature of the invitation. "Dinner would be nice," she answered in a friendly but neutral tone.

"An elegant dinner—maybe go dancing afterwards? If you're up to it, of course."

"Oh—yes! I do like to dance with you, Lee."

"Good—Friday at 7 OK with you?"

"Yeah Friday at 7 sounds great." She grinned at him.

He took her hand and kissed her fingers. Then he remembered his 'diversion' with Dr. Pfaff.

"Ah … Amanda. You know we were under surveillance the entire time we were in the hospital."

"Yeah, I figured that out," she said dryly.

"Well, Dr. Pfaff was getting a bit too nosey about … us."

"Us?"

"Yeah, asking if we were more than partners—that sort of thing."

"Oh." She sounded surprised and chagrined.

"Look, I told him I'd look through my black books this weekend—maybe hit the social scene."

"Well, if that's what you want … " Amanda sounded wary.

Lee interrupted, "Amanda, I just said that to get him off my case. I don't like having him poking around in my private life. I'm only planning on going to dinner with you."

"Oh!" She sounded a bit surprised.

"So please, if he says anything about it—well—you know the real story. And don't mention we're going out to dinner."

"Lee, I don't want to lie to him. He's a professional—he probably could tell."

"You'd be surprised," Lee said darkly. "But you don't have to lie—just don't mention it."

"I don't see what harm there is in two friends going out to dinner. But if you say I should keep it quiet—then I will."

"Yeah, the less they know, the better."

They had arrived at her house.

"Here we are—you're home." He turned to her and took her hands, "Amanda, I'm so glad you're OK. And I know I learned a few things this week—like how tough you really are and how much you've learned in the past three years and how incredible you are at the job and as my partner. I'm really lucky to have you in my life. And I really hope we can stay partners and friends for a long time to come." He kissed her fingers.

"I hope for that, too."

"That and…" He couldn't say it—not yet. "We'll see what the future brings." He kissed her on the cheek. "See you on Friday," he said in a low tone.

"Yeah, Friday." She replied a bit breathlessly.

He started to get out of the car, but she pulled him back.

"I'll go by myself. It's daytime and one of the neighbors might see us."

"OK, I'll wait until you're inside." He handed her her purse, "Here, I got this for you."

"Thanks, Lee—for everything." She kissed him on the cheek. "See you Friday," she said in a low tone. She got out of the car and went into her house.

Lee watched her go in and waited a few minutes more. Then he drove towards his apartment. He felt good about having finally made the decision after the months of uncertainty—the back-and-forth—the almost kisses and missed opportunities. Now he knew it was right. He wanted them to be more than 'just' partners.

'Amanda, you're one in a million—and I'm going to do whatever it takes to make you mine.'


End file.
